


You See Them

by JuneLuxray



Series: You See Them AU [1]
Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: AU, Abuse, Acceptance, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon, Complete, F/M, Found Family, Friendship, Gaslighting, Gen, Ghosts, Hurt/Comfort, Paranormal, Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:21:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 50
Words: 171,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23187694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuneLuxray/pseuds/JuneLuxray
Summary: Ren Amamiya has spent his whole life seeing people who no one else can and being called crazy. By the time he reaches Tokyo on probation, he swears to himself that he will never speak to someone who supposedly isn’t there ever again.Easier said than done as several spirits come calling as he leads the Phantom Thieves.(Now with a TV Tropes page! Thank you! https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/YouSeeThem)
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Niijima Makoto, Kurusu Akira/Niijima Makoto, romance is present but is not the central part of this fic
Series: You See Them AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1902964
Comments: 676
Kudos: 1293
Collections: Quality Persona Fics





	1. Past and Future

**Author's Note:**

> I was writing this for myself for fun, with no intention of publication, after I saw my parents watching a re-run of Ghost Whisperer. Decided to publish after being stuck inside, as with many of you right now given the coronavirus pandemic. 
> 
> I don’t know how many of you will enjoy this (yet another au), but if so much as one person gets some joy out of this in this dark time, then I’ve done my job.

Ren couldn’t remember when, precisely, he started seeing spirits. He had started young, and been continuously angrily dismissed by his parents as having an overactive imagination. His peers initially merely assumed he was playing make-believe and played along, not understanding the boy’s ire when they didn’t understand. Eventually, he had a reputation as crazy, and was shunned. Even his parents seemed disdainful.

It didn’t take long before he decided to stop talking to people out of fear they weren’t really there. He had been caught one too many times by a concerned onlooker talking to someone who apparently wasn’t really there, and vanished as he looked back at them.

Eventually, Ren’s previous habits were readily dismissed by all as the acts of an over-imaginative child. While he struggled internally and found himself unsettled by the spirits no one else could see, he grew up. Everyone eventually let it go and he was able to move past his label as “crazy.”

All of that came to an end one night as he walked home from school. The streets were empty and the sky was dark as he left from a drama club meeting, and was partway down the street when he swore he could faintly hear yelling somewhere nearby.

“Excuse me!”

The boy jumped and turned to his left to see a young woman in tears, who let out a relieved sigh as he turned to her. “Oh, thank God, you can see me!” She drew closer, prompting Ren to take an instinctive step back. She let out a frustrated huff. “Please, don’t ignore me! I need your help!”

“I don’t—”

The cries became louder, the boy turned his head down the street to the source. He felt a breeze slap his arm, and he turned to see the young woman had grown closer again.

“My sister is being abducted by a strange man! Please, help her!”

Ren’s heart sank, and with a quick breath, he nodded. “Lead the way.”

* * *

Following the spirit was the worst mistake of his life, he decided. The ghost had even absconded as soon as the police showed up and he was thrown in a cop car. Apparently, like her still-mortal sister, she didn’t stick around to defend him. He heard it all from the townsfolk— he was still crazy, and not just crazy, but violent. The worst of the worst.

As he was convicted and shipped off to Tokyo, he swore to himself he would never speak or even look at a ghost again. On his phone, he searched fruitlessly for a cure to what he decided was a curse. 

As he yet again began a search for a cure on the day of his arrival, he noticed a strange app with an icon of a red eyeball.

* * *

Shujin Academy sucked.

Everyone knew about his record and shunned him as the criminal they thought him to be. The sole exceptions were Ann, Ryuji, and a talking cat named Morgana. 

_Apparently my life wasn’t weird enough, _ he mused to himself as he guided the team through a magical castle in another dimension to change the heart of a corrupt teacher. 

Still, he couldn’t tell if it was by the sheer volume of people he had to learn to ignore or by dumb luck, but in either case, he had yet to see a ghost. That is, except for one of a silent adult woman with a straight, shoulder-length black bob and glasses that he saw periodically in Leblanc looking sadly at Sojiro. Ignoring her was simple enough, though; he just pretended like she wasn’t there and didn’t look in her direction until she finally disappeared for the night. He couldn’t ask Sojiro about her, anyways; he knew he’d be met with suspicion and possibly be kicked out. He was on thin ice as it was.

Even with the lack of ghost activity, Ren felt great hesitation over accepting the nomination as leader of the Phantom Thieves.

“I don’t know if I’m the best choice.” he said apprehensively. Ryuji cocked his head to the side at the statement.

“Why’s that?”

“... Well... my reputation, and...” He couldn’t bring himself to continue, unsure of how to even express his feelings without revealing his secret. He couldn’t risk that. He didn’t end up having to continue, and wouldn’t have had the opportunity anyways as Ann shook her head.

“We’re not concerned about that, and you’ve already been leading us so far. It’s for the best; you’ll do great as our leader.”

With a sigh, he took the nomination. It only doubled his efforts to ensure his secret was a secret, fearful of losing the few friends he had. Ren couldn’t stomach the idea of them looking at him as if he was crazy. It nearly drove him to tears.

It only got more difficult, though, as they began investigating Ichiryusai Madarame.


	2. The Gaunt Woman

There was a gaunt, sad-looking woman in Madarame’s atelier that looked remarkably like the woman in the Sayuri painting that Yusuke had shown them just days prior.

Ren had only noticed her when they entered the atelier for the first time to supervise Yusuke painting Ann. She lingered in the strange artist boy’s room in the corner, looking glum. No one seemed to notice her save for him, though, and Yusuke hadn’t commented on her. He quickly realized it was a ghost and that he should keep his mouth shut.

It didn’t stop him from instinctively, furtively as much as possible, glancing up at the ghost. After several times, he caught the ghost looking at him, and he immediately ducked his head. He kept his head down until he felt a breeze strike his cheek, and he looked up to see the spirit was now directly in front of him, staring down at him with wide eyes.

“You can see me.” the spirit said bluntly in awe. Ren grit his teeth and looked away. He heard the spirit give a cry. “Hey! Don’t ignore me! I’ve been haunting this house for thirteen years, all alone! HEY!”

“Does anyone else feel a draft?” Ryuji questioned aloud. Ren shrugged and continued averting his gaze in silence. He winced as he got several more gusts striking his face.

“No! Acknowledge me! I need your help, desperately!” he heard her plead. Ren felt something wrench in his gut, and bit back pressure in his eyes from tears that wanted to spill. The gusts stopped, and the ghost leaned down, putting her face in front of his.

“Why am I so distressing to you? I will not harm you, I promise.” A broken sob escaped her as she hung her head. “Please... please, you’re my only hope. My son, Yusuke...” Ren’s eyes widened, and he picked his head up slightly to glance at her. She nodded. “Yes! I’m the one who painted the Sayuri! I died of a seizure when Yusuke was three! Madarame took my painting and painted over the bottom half to profit off of it! It was supposed to be a self portrait of me holding my baby son for him. Madarame is making forged copies to sell in his back room of this atelier.” She moaned. “Please... you have to do something. Please!”

“Ren, are you okay?”

Ren jolted as Ryuji patted his shoulder. The room had gone silent, and as Ren looked up, the spirit bowed to him and disappeared. A pin could have dropped and been heard in the resulting silence as everyone stared at him. Even Yusuke had paused, though he looked irritated about it.

“I’m fine.” Ren croaked out, voice cracking a bit. He almost winced at the sound of it. Ann frowned from her stool.

“Are you sure? You weren’t responding to us for a few moments, and you look like you’ve seen a ghost...”

Ren fought back the urge to scoff at the comment. Instead, he just nodded, slowly. “Y—Yeah. Just... just a little light-headed is all. I’m fine.”

Ryuji sighed and shook his head. “Did you eat okay before we left?”

“‘M fine.” Ren dismissed. He kicked himself internally as he did so; it came out too fast and too forced. The others seemed to silently agree as they shared glances, even Yusuke, who gave him a strange look before sighing and shrugging.

“Why don’t you go home, then? I don’t recall inviting you here, anyways.” He sighed. “I’m not making any progress here, anyways.”

Ann frowned. “I’m sorry... am I the problem?”

Yusuke shook his head. “No, no. It’s me. I’m sorry; but we’ll have to continue this another day.”

Ryuji bristled and rose to his feet. “Aw, hell no! We didn’t wait around this long for nothing!”

An argument quickly ensued over Madarame, plagiarism, and the allegations of abuse, but Ren was silent the whole time. The guilt tugged at his heart painfully. He blanched at the mention of Yusuke wanting to paint Ann nude, but somehow found himself too stunned to move.

At some point, Ryuji shook his shoulder and frowned. “Ren-Ren, wake up, buddy, you’re worrying us!”

Ren’s head shot up as he belatedly realized he was, once again, the center of attention. Even Morgana, who had at some point during the argument returned and stood in the doorway, gawked worriedly at him. 

The leader forced a weak smile.

“I’m fine.” he claimed.

No one looked convinced.

* * *

Halfway through the Palace, and they had run into their first major roadblock: a cognition-locked door. Morgana had remarked it looked an awful lot like the gaudy door in the back of the atelier he had found while spying as they left. Ann and Ryuji were too busy fussing over the concept of her playing bait while Ren remembered what the ghost had said to him.

“Ren, are you with us?”

Ren jolted out of his thoughts as he realized the others were staring at him with some concern. Even Ann took a brief break from her distraught over the situation to frown worriedly at him. The leader nodded.

“I’m fine. This is our plan: I know you’re scared, Ann, but we don’t have much of a choice. Morgana will be with you the whole time and if worst comes to worst, provide a distraction so you can escape.” He turned to Morgana. “Right?”

“Right.” Morgana agreed. Ren nodded. 

“Great. Ryuji and I will be waiting on the other side. Have some faith; I believe we can pull this off.”

Ann groaned and shook her head. “Fine. I’ll do it... for justice...” She cocked her head at him. “You sure you’re feeling up to this?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve been really weird this whole Palace.” Ryuji remarked with a worried frown. “You keep zoning out and looking pale. Plus you’re so jumpy lately.”

“I’m fine.” Ren dismissed. “And I’ll be ready. We’re good to go.”

Though the others shared wary looks, they nodded. Morgana sighed from his position in Ren’s bag.

“I wonder what’s behind that door in the real world...”

“Maybe a Sayuri forgery operation or something.” Ren said flippantly as they began to walk away from the atelier. Morgana’s ears twitched.

“... That’s oddly specific.”

Ren felt his heart clench, and he quickly shook his head. “No, it’s not.” he dismissed. Ryuji huffed. 

“It sort of is...”

The leader nervously scoffed. “Listen, forgery is a fairly common art crime. And the Sayuri is his most famous work. Do the math.” He paused. “Also, I’m joking.”

Ann and Ryuji shared a look.


	3. Predictions

Yusuke awakened to his Persona. It was ugly, painful, and raw, but he freed himself from Madarame with the ripping off of his mask. 

His mother hadn’t followed them into the Palace, something Ren was silently grateful for as Yusuke spoke of how he never knew his mother. The team would have no doubt noticed his intense discomfort as she looked on.

Still, a chink in his armor was gleaned as they chatted in a cafe after the whole ordeal, after Yusuke had deigned to join the team.

“Your prediction was uncannily accurate, Ren.” Morgana remarked, cocking his head at the leader. Ren stiffened as attention went from Yusuke to him. The young man cleared his throat. 

“Apparently.” he said very casually. Ann shook her head.

“No, seriously. You hit the nail on the head. There WAS a forgery operation of the Sayuri, just like you predicted.”

Yusuke’s brows lifted. “He predicted that?”

“Offhandedly.” Ren dismissed with a shrug. “Lucky guess.”

Morgana hummed and frowned. “You’re not hiding something from us?”

“Nope.” Ren lied. He hoped his stoic facade stayed strong as the team shared looks, save for Yusuke, who just stared at him suspiciously.

* * *

They had secured the route to the treasure with no further delay. It hasn’t been easy (the M.C. Escher stairways and jumping through paintings had been dizzying headaches) but it was prepared. Everyone had their roles to play, and all that was left was to send the calling card. 

They had only paused a moment in the safe room to catch their breaths before leaving for the day when Morgana spoke up.

“Hey, Joker, you’re pretty good at making predictions,” he remarked, “what do you think the treasure is going to be?” He rubbed his paws together and giggled excitedly. “I can’t wait to see it! Treasure...!”

Joker froze, but quickly regained his composure as he cleared his throat casually and shrugged. “How would I know?”

“Your last prediction was scarily accurate. How about throwing out a guess for fun?”

The leader gulped as the eyes of the team fell upon him. He remembered distinctly what Yusuke’s mother had said, but debated with himself. How much did he want to lie to cover his ass and not arouse further suspicion?

“Joker?” Skull prompted. Joker jumped and forced a typical cocky smile.

“Just thinking,” he reassured quickly, “well... maybe... maybe a sculpture or a painting of some sort? What with his Palace being a museum and all...”

“That’s not a bad guess.” Morgana agreed. “It has to be something that caused his intense, corrupt desires. Maybe it was a work of art, or money.”

“If it was a painting,” Yusuke abruptly piped up, eyes meeting Ren’s, “what do you think it would be?”

Ren coughed. “Uh... what do you mean?”

Yusuke crossed his arms. “What I mean is— what do you expect the subject matter of the painting will be? What will it depict?”

“Does it matter?”

“It absolutely does.”

Ren noted how intense Yusuke sounded— he felt as though he was being interrogated. He could feel sweat running down the back of his neck.

“I dunno. The Sayuri or something?” At the others’ looks, he cleared his throat. “I mean... the forgery operation... he’s clearly profiting off of it, so it could be what spawned his distorted desires.” He laughed nervously. “Maybe it’s even some sort of special version of the Sayuri. Maybe Madarame changed the original painting or something.”

He immediately wanted to kick himself as the others raised brows at him. Morgana huffed. “That overall logically checks out, but what was that last part?”

“Nothing!” Joker dismissed firmly. “Just thinking. Let’s go home for the day and send out the calling card tomorrow.”

* * *

Ren’s “prediction” had yet again proved accurate as Madarame’s shadow held aloft the true Sayuri, depicted holding a baby. The truth that Yusuke’s mother had told him was completely accurate, and he was left to watch the barely bridled rage emanate from Fox as the battle began.

Soon, the battle was over, and they departed the Palace with the true Sayuri. They spoke for awhile as Yusuke clutched the true Sayuri and declared his intent to remain with the team. 

Eventually, of course, the topic inevitably went to Ren’s prediction. 

“Accurate again, Ren,” Morgana remarked, “even the part about the Sayuri being special.”

Ren smiled shyly. “Just an educated guess is all.”

“I would buy that if it wasn’t for the part about it bein’ special that you said.” Ryuji said bluntly. “You sure you ain’t a little bit psychic or somethin’?”

“I’m not.” Ren huffed with an eye roll. “Anyways, it’s all over, so... what does it matter?”

The others shared a look. Ren was sure he didn’t like it as they all turned back to him and gave him funny looks. “You’re not hiding something from us, are you?” Ann questioned suspiciously. Ren quickly shook his head but said nothing.

“Are you sure you don’t want to tell them the truth?”

Ren stiffened as Yusuke’s mother came into view. The spirit was smiling and holding her face in her hand. “I thank you for all you’ve done for my son, myself, and everyone who was hurt by Madarame,” she said softly, “but don’t you think you could tell my son the truth? I want to speak with him before I move on.”

“Ren, are you still with us?” Ryuji’s concerned voice came.

Ren’s head jerked back toward his team as they all stared at him. The boy forced a smile. “Um, yeah. Just thinking.”

“What about?” Morgana questioned. Ren shrugged. 

“Nothing. Nothing important, I mean.”

None of them looked convinced, especially not Yusuke’s mother, who sighed. “Very well. I will depart, for now, but I will return for a final talk with my son. You cannot hide this from them forever.” she warned forebodingly, and faded away. Ren felt a pang of guilt, amplified as Yusuke waved a hand in front of him.

“What’s gotten into you?” he questioned bluntly. Ren stared at him, mulling over his options. For a moment, he thought about confessing everything, to set Yusuke’s mother free right away. As their eyes bore into him, he coughed.

“Um... well... you see, I...” At their already incredulous expressions, he felt his will waver and fizzle out. He shook his head. “... Never mind.”

Yusuke sighed and shook his head. “You know you’re doing a terrible job hiding the fact you’re hiding something, don’t you?”

Ren remained silent as the others nodded. Ann frowned sympathetically at him. “Ren, whatever this is, we—“

“I’m not ready.” Ren cut her off. He sighed and hung his head. “Please. I just... it’s nothing dangerous, but I’m not ready. The thought of talking about it makes me want to puke.” He looked up. “When I’m ready... I’ll talk. But not yet.”

“Ren, man...” Ryuji’s soft eyes bore into him. “You can trust us with anything. Especially after all the shit we’ve seen...”

Morgana sighed as he looked at Ren. “No. I can tell— you’re not ready, emotionally. But do you promise it’s nothing that’s going to compromise the team?”

“I promise wholeheartedly.”

“Then so be it. But you can’t hide whatever this is forever. You know that, right?”

Ren nodded slowly and sighed. 

“... I know.”


	4. Prying and Spying

Much to Ren’s relief, in the weeks to follow, no one in the team pressed him further on his uncanny predictions in Madarame’s Palace. He silently hoped they’d all forget until whenever he was ready. Part of him wanted to keep his mouth shut forever and hide, but he remembered Yusuke’s mother and sighed. 

He had an obligation. One he knew he was trying to put off.

Ren began weighing his options. Maybe he could come out to just Yusuke and beg him to keep quiet? Or have his mom dictate a letter to give him? Fat chance, he told himself— Yusuke would demand to know where he got it. “In the Metaverse” would fail as an excuse and he knew it. Still, he tried to think in vain how he could proceed unscathed. The thought of having to play medium made his blood run cold and his face heat up with premature embarrassment.

The leader couldn’t even rightfully say he thought his friends would think him crazy at this point. Still, he dreaded their reactions to his little secret. He imagined Ryuji being thoroughly freaked out and avoiding him, Ann being horrified, Yusuke becoming angry with him for not speaking up right away...

Ren tried to put it out of his mind the night of the party following Madarame’s confession. They had been enjoying hot pot and talking through sunset, sharing their hard luck stories after the hot pot was finished. 

Finally, Ann declared her intent to head home, and Yusuke and Ryuji voiced a desire to head to the bathhouse. Ren agreed but asked to head to the bathroom downstairs first before they left. 

When he returned, he was halfway up the stairs to go fetch his friends when he heard them talking in soft, hushed voices.

“... Haven’t heard or seen anything yet,” Morgana whispered, “I’ve seen him moping when he thinks I’m not looking, but I haven’t been able to discern what it is he’s trying to keep secret.”

Ren froze.

“Really? Damn.” There was Ryuji, sounding disappointed. “He ‘prolly thinks or hopes we all forgot by now.”

He felt his gut lurch. 

Ann sighed. “I don’t feel right trying to snoop on him. Maybe we should just let him be.”

Ren silently agreed as he felt anger rise to his throat and burn as he held it back.

“He knew intimate information with intense accuracy,” Yusuke replied firmly, “and it concerned the Sayuri and Madarame. I have a nagging feeling there’s something important he’s not telling us, and it’s tearing him apart. Why won’t he just tell us?”

Morgana sighed glumly. “Even I don’t know. Whatever it is— he’s probably scared of being rejected.”

“What?!” Ryuji cried, raising his voice. A heavy dose of frustration and concern caressed his cry. “But we’re his friends!”

“Shh! Ren might hear us!” Ann scolded. She let out a weary sigh. “But... I think I know why. He was abandoned by everyone he knew... maybe he’s scared it’ll happen again.”

“But we’re better than that.” Ryuji murmured glumly. 

Morgana sighed heavily. “We have to just leave this be for now and hope he comes clean eventually.” 

“My bet’s still on he’s psychic or somethin’ and sometimes gets visions. We’ve all seen the way he freezes and zones out.” Ryuji muttered. “Don’t see why he couldn’t tell us if it’s something like that...”

“I disagree,” Ann replied, “if that was the case, he would have foreseen Shiho...” Her voice caught in her throat, and she took a deep breath, steadying herself before continuing. “Anyways, I don’t believe he’d ignore that or lie about that. He’s better than that.”

“Maybe he doesn’t have control over what he sees, if Ryuji is right.” Morgana suggested.

Ren scoffed and shook his head. They had no idea what he was going through, and he resented their prying. No one could understand.

“Poor boy.” he heard an unfamiliar woman’s voice sigh pityingly from behind. Ren gave a sharp cry and flipped on his heel to see the woman with shoulder-length black hair at the foot of the stairs. He froze as she met his gaze directly and seriously.

“Ren?!”

Ren jolted, breathing hard as he turned around to see his friends in the stairway, frowning with concern. Morgana hopped forward. “Are you alright? We heard you scream.”

“I...” Ren gulped and looked back down the stairs. The ghost stared at him and sighed heavily. 

“Go ahead and lie,” she ordered, “if you’re afraid they won’t believe you.”

“Ren?” Ann prompted worriedly. Ren jolted and turned to his friends, utterly white in the face.

“S— Sorry. I’m fine.”

“What happened?” Yusuke questioned, arms crossed. Ren stammered for a moment before shrugging casually.

“Oh. Um. I saw... I saw a big spider. Felt it run across my feet. Spooked me is all.”

Ann gave a shudder. “Eek! I’d shriek, too.”

Yusuke nodded and grimaced. “How unsettling.”

Ryuji took a step back and glanced over the stairs, paling. “Aw, eff that! Spiders aren’t okay!”

“I see it!” Morgana cried, and he pounced past Ren’s ankles to the floor. He slammed his paw against the wall and examined his handiwork. He nodded and held his paw up, where a black smudge remained. “It’s gone now.”

Ren blinked and frowned guiltily.  _“T hat was a great coincidence.” _ he thought to himself.  _ “Sorry, little guy...” _

Yusuke stared at the paw and shook his head. “It wasn’t that big. I saw much larger arachnids in the atelier.”

Ryuji groaned. “Oh, _eff_ that! Eff that to hell! I don’t wanna think about big-ass spiders!”

Ann shook her head. “Oh my god... okay. Well, it’s over. I’m heading home.”

She headed past Ren and straight through the ghost, who just rolled her eyes.

“I’ll come back later.” she huffed, and faded from view. For the moment, the topic at hand changed, and Ren found himself grateful for it. Still, his mind lingered back to the ghost and his friends’ conversation and continued to do so for the rest of the evening.

_“Why do they have to pry?”_ Ren wondered to himself forlornly, well after they had returned from the bathhouse and after the lights had been put out. He wasn’t sure what ungodly hour of the night it was, but whatever it was, the stress was robbing him of sleep.

He stared in a sleepless haze up at his dark ceiling. Yusuke softly snored from the couch and he could feel Morgana sleeping against him, leaving him free to silently ponder his situation. Ren knew he’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel some resentment toward his friends for trying to dig into his life.  _ “What do they know?”  _ he internally grumbled bitterly.  _ “Where do they get off thinking they’re entitled to know anything? They’ve never had to be afraid of being seen as crazy or a freak. They’ve never had to wonder if the person they’re talking to is really there. And most of all, they’ve never had to suffer in silence their entire lives like I have.” _

Part of him knew it was a bit of an overstatement. Yusuke himself had, until recently, been forced to live in silence over his sensei’s misdoings and abuse, but at least he was finally free, he reasoned. Ren wasn’t ready to risk what he had pulled together. 

He glanced over at the sleeping form on the couch and sighed quietly, the anger banking.  She wasn’t free yet. Not really. Not until he put her to rest by revealing his truth that the others sought out. 

Groaning softly, he closed his eyes. It was silent and he was almost asleep when he heard a voice.

“Don’t panic; it’s just me.”

It took every ounce of willpower to not yelp and flinch again as the mystery ghost woman’s voice came again. He remained silent.

“Good.” she praised. “Keep your mouth and eyes shut for now and let me explain. My name is Wakaba Isshiki. I’m an old friend of Sojiro and the mother of his adopted daughter, Futaba.”

He let out an odd noise. _“_ _Since when does Sakura-san have an adopted daughter?” _

“Yes, I know. He hasn’t mentioned her. I died about two years ago, and she eventually went into his custody. She refuses to leave her room or go to school because she believes I wrote a letter blaming her for my apparent suicide. However, I did not commit suicide. I was murdered by mental shutdown.”

“What the fuck.” Ren whispered, almost too quiet to hear. She sighed.

“Language, young man. Bear with me and keep quiet if you want your secret to stay intact, for now. I am unable to move on until my daughter and Sojiro are at peace, and my murder is avenged. This is no easy task, and while I feel terrible for asking you this, I need your help. For now, do nothing; my daughter is spying on you as we speak.” 

His brows lifted, and his breath quickened, but she shushed him. “She will not expose you as a Phantom Thief, but eventually, she will ask for your help, sometime soon. She is slowly emboldening herself enough to ask for help to get her out of the labyrinth of her heart. I request that you help her when the time comes; we’ll move from there. If you understand, open your eyes and blink twice.”

Though he felt his mind reeling and heart racing, Ren slowly opened his eyes and blinked, once, twice. He felt a cold breeze on his head, as if the spirit was trying to pat him on the head.

“Good boy.” she praised. “For now, I understand you can’t be seen speaking with me. Keep it that way. I’ll be in contact with you again soon.”

With that, her voice faded away. Ren’s mind was buzzing with confusion and shock as he stared up at the ceiling numbly.

_ “Murder... forged suicide note... and an agoraphobic daughter who knows who we are and is spying on us? What have I gotten myself into?” _


	5. The Man with the Buchimaru Pin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear AO3: stop fucking up my spacing and words. I do NOT want triple spaces where there should be single spaces. Plskthnx.

The next day offered him no relief.

Kawakami (a recent friend of his as it turned out following the fiasco that was Operation Maid Watch) has asked him to head to the student council office on the behalf of the student council president. From the start, Ren had a bad feeling about it, a sentiment Morgana echoed as he headed up the stairs and to the office.

Inside, he saw Makoto, the student council president, leaning against the table, her hands held in front of her. To her side was a tall man in a police uniform with dark brown hair and piercing red eyes. A small Buchimaru-kin pin, Ren believed, hung from the sleeve of his uniform. 

In an instant, he froze up in terror, going white in the face. _“Am I about to be arrested again?”_ he fearfully wondered internally.

“Earlier than expec...” Makoto stopped and gave him a quizzical look. “Are you alright, Amamiya-kun?”

The man blinked and realized Ren was staring right at him. He gasped. “You can see me.” he breathed. 

“Amamiya?”

Ren jumped and turned to Makoto, who frowned in a mixture of concern and confusion. The boy stammered and shrugged. 

“Fine,” he said dazedly, “just... saw a big spider.”

Niijima’s eyes widened comically. She flinched and whirled around to look. She frowned. “Where?”

The man heaved a sigh. “He’s lying to you, Mako-chan. He can’t tell you he sees me.” He cleared his throat as Makoto walked forward, searching for the spider. “I’m her father. Deceased, as you might guess. Don’t mind me; I’m just keeping an eye on her.”

“Amamiya-kun?”

Ren flinched as Makoto looked up at him. He shrugged. “I think I saw it run behind the cabinet. It’s no big deal; I didn’t mean to freeze up like that.”

The girl sighed and shook her head. “I suppose I can’t blame you. Arachnophobia is quite common, but let us get back to business. Please, have a seat.”

The two sat at the table opposite each other while Ren set his bag down in a chair next to him. Makoto’s father remained standing, staring down at the scene.

“I’m sorry in advance for what she’s about to do.” he said. “But she’s at her wit’s end. I’d like you to help set my daughter straight.”

“Mr. Kamoshida and Madarame,” Makoto started calmly, “won’t you tell me the truth about the Phantom Thieves’ incidents?”

Ren just stared silently at her as she smiled. “Can’t answer that? Ah, of course. There’s no way you would admit to such things.” She put her phone down on the tabletop. “Have a listen.”

“If somebody else could help ‘em, we wouldn’t be doin’ stuff as the Phantom Thieves to start with!”

Ryuji’s voice. Ren cringed back as the recording continued.

“We’ll be okay if we keep doing this, right?”

Ann’s voice. Makoto narrowed her eyes at Ren. “What could all of this mean?”

“We screwed up...!” Morgana hissed from the bag. Ren silently agreed, and paled ever-so-slightly. Makoto just tapped her fingers against the tabletop.

“Was it blackmail? Hypnosis? How do you corner someone into making them confess?” She leaned forward, intense, accusatory intent in her eyes. “Won’t you tell me how you did it?”

“I have nothing to say to you.” he spat. Makoto just shook her head.

“That’s the same thing as admitting it, you know.” She crossed her arms, and he felt frozen in place as she locked eyes with him. “Now, what would the police think if they heard my recording?”

Cold sweat dripped down the back of his neck. Makoto’s father sighed and shook his head. “Brutal, but effective.” he remarked. “Sorry again. She wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t for that rat bastard.”

“It’d be bad if we’re put under police surveillance.” Morgana whispered. “There’s no telling what will happen to you, too!”

Makoto brushed a lock of hair back. “If you confess the truth, I don’t mind just leaving this between the two of us. You’ll tell me, won’t you?”

“What’s your game?” he snapped coldly. “What do you really want from me?”

She was about to reply when his phone rang. The girl nodded at him, and he pulled it out of his pocket. Ryuji was calling.

“Go ahead,” Makoto said calmly, “answer it.”

Bracing himself, Ren answered and held the phone to his ear. Immediately, Ryuji’s voice rang out, loud as ever.

“Hey! Where you at? Takin’ a leak?” He laughed carelessly. “Let’s meet up at our usual spot for our Phantom Thieves meetin’!”

Ren jerked the phone away from his face and cringed, gritting his teeth. Morgana hissed.

“That idiot...!”

“Your friend’s an idiot.” Makoto’s father agreed dryly, cringing himself. Makoto chuckled.

“As loud as always... but his timing is impeccable. I think the others should hear this as well... don’t you?”

Ren stared at her, bewildered, but tried to keep his stoic facade. Morgana sighed.

“Looks like we don’t have a choice...”

* * *

Blackmailed. Change a heart or be turned in to the police.

While his friends were (rightfully) flustered and angered as Makoto revealed the audio, her father tagged along, and kept whispering to Ren, who was thoroughly distracted as the others talked.

“I’m sorry again for this,” he apologized, “but she’s determined. For what it’s worth, she probably won’t actually turn you in. Just work with her. She’s not unreasonable or evil— I raised her better than that. Just keep her safe, please. She’ll realize she needs to stand against this injustice with a little help.”

“I will,” Ren whispered back as quiet as possible, “but why is she doing this?”

“Ren-Ren, wake up.”

Ren jerked himself back into reality as he realized he had, yet again, drawn the concern of the others. Even Makoto was frowning worriedly.

“I was just saying I wanted to give you all a chance and verify the justice you speak of.” The look of mixed highhandedness and guilt had fled her as she brushed her hair back and stared at him. “You did that earlier in the council room.” she remarked, eyes wide. “Are you feeling okay?”

Ren didn’t get a chance to reply. Ann gripped his wrist and pulled him away from her.

“He’s fine,” Ann hissed, “no thanks to you. Whose heart do you want us to change?”

“I can’t reveal that to you yet,” Makoto said coolly, “but tomorrow... meet me on the rooftop after school. Then we’ll talk.” 

With that, she departed. Her father waved to him as he followed her away.

“It’s the principal’s fault!” he yelled down the hall. “That son of a bitch has been holding a letter of recommendation over my daughter’s head in exchange for discovering the identities of the Phantom Thieves, but she’s going to do the right thing in the end, I know it! She hasn’t told him yet and is questioning what’s right! Just show her the way!”

With that, he vanished, and Ren felt someone shake his shoulder. He looked over to Ryuji pulling his hand away as he stared at him with a mix of concern and curiosity.

“What were you staring at?”

“Nothing.” Ren quickly dismissed with a shake of the head. “Let’s go talk about this.”

* * *

“... You were careless. I don’t think you realized how dire the situation was. Anything to say, Ryuji?” Yusuke demanded bitterly. Ryuji scowled.

“Why are you singling me out?! Ann got caught, too!”

Ann sighed and slumped in her seat. “I’m so sorry...” 

They had headed to their usual restaurant down the Main Street of Shibuya to recap the situation. Ren was quiet and let his friends bicker after giving his initial scolding once they sat down, joined by Yusuke. He put a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes as he mentally recapped everything that had just happened— including what Makoto’s father had said to him.

The principal holding a letter of recommendation over her head. Something about her seeing the light. Realizing she had to stand against it all— but how was he to do that? A roiling sense of resentment nearly choked him; what gave ghosts the right to demand so much of him? Why did everyone always want so much from him?

“Ren?”

Ren picked his head up and opened his eyes. The team was staring at him in silence with mixed expressions: Ryuji’s fluster was replaced by curiosity and concern. Ann was pensive, Morgana’s eyes bore into him, and Yusuke stared intensely at him.

“Yes?” he asked as innocently as possible.

“Were you doing... whatever it is that you do again?” Morgana questioned bluntly. “We noticed you doing that while we were talking to Makoto. And she said you were doing that earlier.”

Ren coughed and shrugged casually. “Does it matter?”

“It does.” Yusuke insisted firmly. “Whatever you’re so insistent on keeping to yourself bore useful information last time. If you know anything, it’s in the team’s best interests if you tell us.”

“He’s right.” Ryuji huffed. “How long are you gonna keep this up, man?”

“As long as I want.” Ren snapped sharply, sounding far more defensive and bitter than he had intended. He immediately felt a wave of guilt as the others flinched back from him. Ann reached out to pat his arm gingerly.

“Calm down, Ren-kun. We’ll stop prying. But if you know anything... it’d help.”

The boy deflated and slumped in his seat. He sighed and shook his head. “I’m sorry; that was too rash of me. I’m afraid this time around so far that I don’t know much other than I think Niijima is doing this because the principal ordered her to investigate the Phantom Thieves— and won’t give her a letter of recommendation if she doesn’t. But she hasn’t told him yet who we are, and she’s doubting herself and wondering what’s right. We might bring her back to—”

“I knew it!” Ann hissed, clenching her fist. “That bitch just wants a letter of recommendation and is just doing this because the adults told her to!”

“Hang on,” Morgana piped up, “she said she wanted to verify the justice we speak of. Maybe this is an opportunity for a new target that we’ve been looking for, provided it really is someone with a Palace. Ren’s hunch that she can be shown the light might be true.”

“Let’s hope.” Ryuji huffed. The boy groaned and rolled his shoulder. “Either way... man, what a pain in the ass.”

Ren silently agreed— for more than one reason. _“Of course there’s a ghost involved. Why wouldn’t there be?”_ he mused to himself irritably.

He had a feeling he’d be no less irritated the following day when Makoto gave them their new target.


	6. She Sees Them

Makoto didn’t have a name for the target. Her orders were for them to find the culprit behind the mob blackmailing Shujin students and change their heart, but still, no name. While it was a wrinkle in their plan, they knew they had to change the target’s heart to free Shujin students, regardless of who made the demand for the change of heart.

So far, Makoto’s father hadn’t been of any assistance beyond occasionally grumbling about the situation and joining his daughter’s pleas for them to change the target’s heart.

“I’d ask what sick bastard goes after kids,” her father had snarled on the rooftop as the others spoke to Makoto, “but I saw too much as a cop to even be surprised. Show us your justice, Phantom Thieves.”

Eventually, Ren was forced to contact a journalist named Ohya that they had met for information. From a late-night meeting in a dark bar of Shinjuku, he got the name— Junya Kaneshiro.

“I’m not responsible for what happens next!” Ohya had proclaimed with a snort. Ren thanked her and left the bar. He walked slowly, still mystified by the cacophony of bright lights shining over the street. He carefully navigated himself, weaving around anyone in front of him (though at least once or twice, Morgana let out a confused noise at his movement). The boy barely noticed as he took in the sights and the sounds of talking, laughing, and yelling of barkers. The air reeked of human body odor and cigarettes, something simultaneously gross and remarkable to him. It was something he never got to experience in his hometown.

He was heading out to the train station when he heard a young woman’s voice.

“Young man, with the dark curly hair and glasses!”

He jumped and turned to see a woman no later than her early twenties, with long blonde hair, purple eyes, and a pink dress that hung freely around her ankles. Before her was a table with cards overlaying the surface. She nodded as he turned to her. “Yes, you! Can I speak with you?”

Ren shook his head and waved. “Thanks, but I’m not interested in whatever you’re—

“I’m not here to sell anything to you. I really just want to talk to you.” She smiled hopefully. “Please?”

Ren stared hesitantly at her. Morgana pulled himself from the bag and nudged Ren. “Why not? I’m curious to hear what she has to say.”

The boy exhaled sharply. “Fine. Stay in the bag.”

The cat pushed himself back down as Ren reluctantly approached the woman. She gestured to the chair. “Please, have a seat.”

“Alright...” Ren sat down and placed his bag in his lap. He fixed her with a quizzical look as she gave him a knowing look. “Who are you and do you want?”

“My name is Chihaya Mifune, fortune teller.” she elaborated. “And I called you over because I believe you and I share a similar gift.”

Ren froze, but quickly regained his composure and grunted. “I don’t know what you’re—”

“You see the spirits of the dead.” she said bluntly. The boy blanched as Morgana let out a surprised cry. “I know because I can, too, and—”

Ren pulled himself away from the table and bolted away, ignoring her cries to come back. He pulled into an alleyway and breathed, hard, his heart pounding out of his chest. The boy could feel the blood rushing from his face as he felt faint.

“Ren.” Morgana whispered, and he jolted as he remembered the cat was still in his bag— and had overheard the whole thing. As he suddenly gasped and lurched forward, Morgana yelped. “Ren, calm down! I’m just confused is all!” 

Ren was dazed as he stood hunched over for a few moments, breathing heavily. He had to explain himself to Morgana— and he was, in a panic, trying to think up a cover story for a subject that mortified him. 

All of that came to a stop as Morgana pulled himself from the bag, pressed his face against Ren’s, and purred reassuringly. 

After a breathless moment, Ren felt his heart begin to slow down. He hung his head and took slow breaths until finally, he was calm enough to talk. Morgana sighed wearily.

“I’ve never seen you that panicked before. Before I say anything else, I want to preface this with you don’t have to be afraid or panic. I just want to know what that was all about. Okay?”

Ren was silent for a moment before letting out an exhausted sigh. “... Okay.” 

“Good.” Morgana hesitated for a moment before speaking. “So... there’s really no way of getting around this. She said you see spirits of the dead. Is... is this true?”

Ren blankly stared downward, dazed. He groaned and squeezed his eyes shut.

“This cannot be happening...” he muttered. “Not like this.”

“Ren.”

There was his voice, calm yet demanding. Ren opened his eyes and turned to meet Morgana’s eyes— the cat looked surprised, but no anger hid under his gaze. After a long moment, Ren groaned for several seconds and nodded.

“God _damn_ it,” he cursed bitterly, “this wasn’t how you were supposed to find out. This wasn’t how anyone was supposed to find out, if they ever did.”

Morgana’s ears twitched, and he frowned. “... Is this why you— well, how you keep making ‘predictions’? Are you... talking to ghosts?”

Ren sighed heavily and nodded. “... No point in hiding it now. Yes; that’s exactly right. Yusuke’s mother was offering information for the last Palace.”

Morgana cocked his head to the side, his tail flicking back and forth. “Why didn’t you just tell me?” he asked, hurt. “Did you really think I’d be upset by this?”

The boy shrugged and looked away. “I was scared that you’d think I’m crazy just like everyone else... I see and hear people that most people can’t see or hear, and have no way to prove it but with what they tell me.”

Morgana huffed. “I’m a human who lost his true form to turn into what looks like a magical, talking cat because of the Metaverse, an alternate dimension of human cognition. Why in the world would I think you’re crazy, especially after all you’ve done to prove it?” 

Ren scoffed and smiled, ever-so-slightly. “Touché. Still... it wasn’t just you. It’s the others I’m also worried about not taking this well.” He turned back to Morgana with wide, desperate eyes. “Please... please don’t tell anyone.”

Morgana’s ears drooped. “Ren, I— I really don’t think they’d be upset or think you’re crazy. Yusuke especially would want to know that his mother is...” He blinked, and his eyes widened. “What happened to his mother?” As Ren didn’t answer, he huffed. “Ren.”

“... She’s still around,” he explained hesitantly, “she said she won’t move on until she gets to speak to her son.”

“Which would necessitate you telling Yusuke about your secret.” Morgana huffed. “You know you can’t put that off forever! That’s cruel to both of them to—“

“I know!” Ren protested sharply, gritting his teeth. “I just—“

“Ren, they’re not going to be upset with you or think you’re insane! You can’t hide this forev—!”

_ “I KNOW!”  _

The cry came out much sharper than intended, and drew a few curious looks from those passing by. Morgana flinched and hissed, pinning his ears back as Ren briefly breathed laboriously and wiped his eyes as he sniffled.

“You’re that afraid? Why? Who hurt you?” Morgana nonetheless questioned. Ren huffed.

“Everyone. You are the sole non-dead person to know about this— except for that woman, I guess— and not think I’m crazy. I have no one except for my friends, and—“

“You’re worried they’ll leave you.” Morgana surmised. Ren took a breath and nodded. From there, the cat was silent a few moments before letting out a long, tired exhale.

“Okay,” he reluctantly acquiesced wearily, “we won’t tell them. Not yet, anyways.” He nudged him. “I’ll help you come out to them, when you’re ready— the sooner the better. But for now, I’ll keep your secret.”

Ren felt his heart settle, and he let out a breath of relief. He smiled at the cat and stroked his head, prompting purrs. “Thank you, Morgana. You have no idea how relieved that makes me to hear.”

“Heh... what are friends for?” he said wryly. “We need to talk a lot more about this later, though. For now, you should go back to that woman and hear what she has to say.”

Ren winced. “She exposed me, though...”

_“Ren.”_ The name was spoken yet again as a warning and admonishment. He winced again and took a deep breath.

“Fine...”

He headed back out, still shaky, and made his way back to the table. The woman was still there, looking down at her cards glumly. At his approach, she sat up and managed a smile. “You’re back.”

Ren sighed and nodded. “I am. I’m sorry for running like that.”

“It’s alright. I should have approached that potentially sensitive subject more slowly.” She nodded toward the chair. “I just seldom meet those with similar gifts, and since you’re so young, I thought you might like some advice.”

Ren swallowed and nodded slowly. He sat down and plopped his bag on his lap. Finally, he crossed his arms and leveled his gaze with her. “How did you know?”

“You were dodging and walking around people who weren’t there— well, physically, anyways.” She shrugged. “I watched you do that several times. With enough practice, you get better at discerning the living from the dead. Plus the dead always turned to give you funny looks after you dodged them. Some of the ones I’m friends with came to tell me there was a boy who could see them but didn’t even seem aware of the fact he could.” She giggled. “Thank you for being so considerate of others, living or dead.”

Ren flushed and scratched the back of his neck. He realized how odd his movements must have looked to onlookers, and groaned. “How many could I have passed?”

Chihaya shook her head. “There are many more ghosts in this city than I think you’re aware of. Tokyo is the largest city on Earth— you are constantly among the dead. Most just can’t see them— thousands of ghosts, going about their daily post-lives.”

“Why do they linger?” Ren questioned with a huff. “Don’t they want to move on?”

“All do, eventually. Most do move on immediately after death.” She began fiddling with her cards. “However, many decide to linger, just a little longer. Some have problems that need to be addressed. Some refuse to accept they’re dead. Others just don’t feel like moving on yet and decide to travel the world unseen or stay where they lived in life. Then there’s a few who wait for their loved ones before moving on. They all have their reasons, but those are the biggest causes.” She looked up at him and sighed forlornly. “The saddest cases are those who have issues. They cannot move on willfully, even if they wish, until their problem is addressed.”

“How many are around us?” Ren questioned with a shudder. She shrugged.

“Varies from place to place, but Tokyo alone has perhaps in the hundreds of thousands.” At his horrified expression, she giggled. “Most you just don’t even notice out of the sea of people.”

“... Right.” Ren cleared his throat. “I... don’t mean to offend, but is there any wayto, you know... make it so I stop seeing ghosts?”

The woman shook her head. “Nope, and no offense taken— that’s a common desire from those like us, at least at first.”

The boy sighed heavily. “I don’t know what I expected.”

Chihaya smiled sympathetically. “I know how you’re feeling. I’d love to speak with you further, but it’s getting quite late, and I expect you have to run home soon, so why don’t we exchange numbers and you can contact me when you need advice?”

Ren blinked. “You’d do that?”

She nodded. “Anything to help a young seer of ghosts. Adolescence is typically a very trying time for people like us, so I’d be willing to help. What’s your name?”

The boy smiled shyly. “Ren Amamiya. It’s a pleasure.”

* * *

His friends had rejoiced to hear there was a name for the target, and agreed to meet the next day in Shibuya. Though his eyelids were heavy and tired from everything that had transpired, Ren took the time to explain everything up to date on his secret to Morgana— including Wakaba, and Makoto’s father. 

And the spy who would need their help.

At one point during their conversation, Wakaba made her way up the stairs just as Ren was telling Morgana about her. He froze midway, prompting the cat to look all around himself.

“Is she here?” he questioned. Ren swallowed hard and nodded. 

“Morgana, Wakaba. Wakaba, Morgana.”

The ghost giggled. “Charmed.” she greeted to the cat who couldn’t see her. Morgana blinked, wide-eyed.

“What’d she say?”

“‘Charmed.’”

“Oh!” Morgana managed a smile. “The pleasure is mine, Wakaba-san!”

Ren smiled softly and laughed in spite of himself as he continued. Finally, at the end of his tale, Morgana was looking at him with great pity.

“You’ve had a rough time with this, huh? Been alone with this for years. No wonder you were scared to tell me. Or anyone else, for that matter.” He huffed and frowned as he scratched behind an ear. “That being said... this business about being spied on worries me. Can we really trust this girl to not snitch? And furthermore, how, where, and when does she spy on us, if she’s cooped up inside?”

Ren shrugged. “She will want our help sooner rather than later to change her heart. Snitching on us would run counter to her goals. As for when, how, and where Futaba-chan is spying on us... I have no idea.” He laughed nervously. “Hopefully she can’t hear me now, because she’d probably assume I’m batshit crazy talking to a cat you can only understand if you’ve been in the Metaverse with, and her mom, but her mom’s a ghost so only I can see and hear her. I probably just sound like I’m talking to myself and a cat.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Wakaba said with a wave of the hand. “Everything will be okay. I have faith in you and her, too.”

Ren quickly repeated back what she had said to Morgana, whose ears twitched as he huffed.

“I suppose we have to accept that, but... how is she spying on us?”

Wakaba chose that moment to disappear. Ren gasped and grit his teeth before explaining to Morgana what had just occurred. The cat grumbled as well.

“That’s annoying. Why is she not saying anything yet?” A silence fell, and finally, heshook his head. “Let’s do to bed for now,” the cat ordered, concern caressing every word, “we can only tackle this one day at a time. Tomorrow, we start our infiltration of Kaneshiro’s Palace, and then we free Futaba-chan.” He nodded seriously. “We can do it together.”

The teenage boy groaned and laid back down on the bed with no objections. Morgana tucked himself between his arm and his torso and purred as Ren began to close his eyes.

When he was almost asleep, Morgana spoke.

“Ren?”

There was a yawn and a tired sigh. “Yes, Morgana?”

Morgana didn’t respond right away, but when he did, his words were full of admiration.  “I think you’re great. Your gift is a boon to this team and we’re lucky to have you.” He yawned. “That’s all I had to say. Goodnight, Ren.”

The boy smiled softly as his eyes closed.

“Thanks, Morgana.”


	7. June 20th

The Palace was a bank, ruling over all of Shibuya. That and the cognitions of walking ATMs was bad enough; the very bank they needed to access to steal the treasure was even worse.

It floated above in the sky, well beyond their grasp, as it siphoned money flying up into it, like a UFO out of a sci-fi abducting a victim. It abducted only money, though, and not people, making that route impossible.

As Mona wearily denied an ability to turn into a helicopter (as prompted by Skull), Joker found himself staring up at the monstrosity dedicated to greed, unblinking. He tried asking Arsene if he could give him a lift, but his Persona replied that the energy required for such a task to take a single person was well beyond the limits of his pool of SP.

“Joker, got any ideas?” Panther finally asked as all turned to him. Joker continued to stare up at the bank before groaning and shaking his head. Skull huffed and crossed his arms.

“Not even any, y’know... special advice from whatever you do?”

Joker bristled and Mona sighed heavily. “Skull, if he knew, don’t you think he would have said so already?”

Skull groaned and shook his head.  “Point.” He looked up at the bank and grimaced. “What a pain in the ass...”

Joker cleared his throat and shook his head as he turned around and looked at his team, his hands in his pockets. “Let’s leave for now and spend some time thinking of a way to infiltrate the Palace.”

“Yes, let’s.” Fox agreed, finally pulling his eyes away. He shuddered. “Let us depart this wretched place.”

* * *

A day later and they were no closer to figuring out how they were going to get up to the bank. No idea bore fruit, and they found themselves debating the subject when Makoto (and her father, looking stressed) appeared to ask about their status.

Ann had called her useless.

Something in the girl seemed to snap while Ren noticed her father looking pained at the mention of the word. 

Then she took off, swearing that she could help. Her father went with her, pleading for her to return though she could not hear him. As they exited the walkway to Shibuya to try to find her, Ren’s phone began to ring. Upon answering it, he heard Makoto’s voice.

“Stay silent and stay on the line.” she ordered. After a moment, he heard her voice again. “Excuse me! Where can I find Junya Kaneshiro?”

The entire team barely stifled back gasps of shock and horror. Ren’s face whitened as he heard similar confusion and shock from whoever she was talking to. 

And unfortunately, he couldn’t hear her father’s voice on the other end of the line.

“Amamiya!”

There was her father’s voice, directly in front of him. Ren’s head jerked up to see the apparition or her father, eyes wide with terror.

“My daughter, she—”

“I wish she’d tell us where she is,” Ren said, turning to his team but still looking at her father out of the corner of his eyes, “so we could follow her.”

Immediately, her father began rapidly giving him the exact spot— the alleyway in Shibuya by the gym that he and Makoto had first encountered a mafia member, trying to entice them into illicit acts. “Please hurry!” he begged, and he disappeared once again.

“Ren!” Ryuji began shaking his arm. “This ain’t no time to—”

Ren shoved the phone into his hands and waved forward. “Follow me! NOW!”

He took off, and though thoroughly bewildered, the others followed closely behind as he lead them directly to where they saw Makoto being put into a car. It began to take off as Ren saw her stare ahead, eyes hard and serious. Her father all the while screamed and shouted inside with her. He spied Ren and waved.

“Get help! She—”

The car began to take off, leaving a group of frantic teens behind. Yusuke quickly pulled a notepad from his pocket and scribbled down the license plate number. 

“I’ve got the license plate number! Flag down a taxi so—”

They all yelped as Ryuji stepped into traffic and held his hands out, stopping a taxi in its tracks. A second longer, and he would have been hit.

“Ryuji!” Ann cried, clutching her chest as she painted. Ryuji shook his head.

“Get in!”

* * *

They managed to barge into a surprisingly unguarded facility that they followed the car to. Before they could even throw the door open, though, Ren could hear Makoto’s father on the other side of the door.

“... You hear me? Well, you can’t, but keep your filthy hands off my daughter, you sick fuck! I’ll—”

Ryuji threw the door open and led the pack in. A number of guards drew guns as they saw the situation. It was a dark, seedy room that reeked of smoke; Ren could see tabletops covered in bottles of alcohol and unknown powders besides undetermined pills. 

Directly before them on a luxurious looking red couch was a very large, greasy looking man with slicked back brown hair. He wore silk and black leather with a gold chain around his neck and several gold rings around his thick fingers. Before him on a table was a thick, black briefcase. He stared, scowling, unamused as he took them in. A pretty young woman sat next to him, calmly watching the situation with minimal care.

Makoto was face down on the ground, kneeling as a guard kept a gun to the back of her head. Her father stood to the side, quieting only once he saw Ren.

“There you are!” He threw a hand out, gesturing to the whole room. “I need you to steal every single one of their hearts, NOW!”

“What the hell are you doin’ to her?!” Ryuji demanded loudly, drawing winces from the rest of the team. The large man— Kaneshiro, Ren guessed— turned to glare at his guards.

“You got followed, dipshits.”

Ren was silent, staring at Kaneshiro with contempt and fear. The man calmly lifted his phone up and snapped several pictures in quick succession of the group. Ryuji looked as though he was going to say something, but Ren quickly slapped a hand over his mouth. Kaneshiro laughed.

“Smart boy. I suppose you came here to rescue your dumbass friend?”

Ren was silent, but he nodded, once. Kaneshiro hummed to himself and turned to the woman next to him. “How much was that purse you wanted? The alligator-skin one?”

She shrugged. “About three million yen.”

Kaneshiro leaned forward and swiftly undid the lock on the case. He flipped the lid back, revealing stacks upon stacks of money— more than Ren had ever seen in his life.

“Holy—” Morgana quickly muffled himself from the bag he sat in. Kaneshiro didn’t seem to notice as he picked up a single stack and handed it to the girl, who squealed and clasped her hands together.

“For realsies?!”

The man laughed. “Better thank those kids.”

Ren didn’t remove his hand from Ryuji’s mouth. He could feel the boy seething with rage as Makoto’s father made a keening noise. 

“I don’t like where this is going. I died because of bastards like him— be prepared for anything. If you have to, jump into that other world and leave them all in there while you escape with my daughter.”

“I spend money when I’m stressed,” Kaneshiro explained smugly, “but now that I see a stack missing from this briefcase, I’m pissed off.” He shook his phone. “How do you think someone who saw the debauchery of teens would react, hmm? Say, parents, your school, cops... It’d hurt your futures. Might even get you thrown in jail.” He laughed, then smirked.  “Luckily for you, I’m a very forgiving man... I’ll let you all off the hook if you can bring me three million yen in three weeks’ times.” At their horrified expressions, he laughed. “Don’t worry... bonus season is coming up. You can beg your mommies and daddies for help. Now get out of my sight.”

The guard pulled away from Makoto. The girl was silent and white in the face as she pushed herself up. 

“Mako-chan,” her father lamented, “what have you done?”

* * *

A painfully awkward silence fell as they left the facility and wandered some distance away. Makoto kept her head down the whole time; her face was red with shame. Her father stared silently at her, consternation written over his face. The others just stared at her as they walked. 

Eventually, the silence was broken. “I... am so sorry.” Makoto apologized, once they were a safe distance away and alone. She grimaced with regret, and flinched as they team stared at her, exhausted.

“What possessed you to act so recklessly?” Yusuke questioned. He met her eyes— his stare wasn’t angry, just concerned. The girl hesitated. “Won’t you tell us?”

“Her sister said she was useless to her,” Makoto’s father answered for her as Makoto began talking, “so she went off when Blondie over here called her useless. I’m expecting you to change Kaneshiro’s heart, pronto.”

Ren nodded. Makoto didn’t seem to notice and sighed wearily.

“I’ll do something about the money— so can we please drop it?”

Ryuji shook his head. “No can do. We’re all wrapped up in this now.” He let out a frustrated huff and kicked the ground. “Man, if only there was something we could do about that bank...”

The others flinched while Makoto blinked. “Ryuji!” Yusuke hissed. Ryuji scratched the back of his head while Makoto cocked her head at him.

“Bank...?”

Morgana perked up from Ren’s bag. He propped himself up, ears erect as he smiled. “The bank!” He hopped off of Ren and onto the sidewalk, where he stared up at the others. Makoto in particular stared at him, baffled at his meowing. “She isn’t useless at all! She may be our key in!”

Ryuji blinked. “Whoa, I don’t get this at all...”

Morgana shook his head. “Hear me out, you guys! Now that we’re Kaneshiro’s targets, that means we’re now customers of Kaneshiro’s bank— and Makoto in particular is a very special customer, wouldn’t you say?”

“Oh, no.” Her father said, eyes widening ever-so-slightly as he turned to Ren. “Don’t tell me...” Ren nodded silently. He groaned and put a hand on his head. “Oh, God. Is this the only way?” Ren nodded again, and the man stared at him for a moment before letting out an exhausted huff. “God damn it. Can’t believe it’s come to this...” His eyes narrowed. “Keep her safe, or I’ll haunt you for the rest of your days!”

Ren turned to the team, belatedly realizing they had all gone silent and stared at him with varying expressions. Makoto looked bewildered and confused, Ryuji, Ann, and Yusuke stared in silence with expectant looks, and Morgana just swished his tail back and forth, knowing a silent conversation had just been carried out.

Nevertheless, Ren nodded to them, once, firmly. “Let’s be off.”

“Indeed.” Yusuke agreed, stepping forward as he smiled at Makoto with a knowing look. “By this point, you have the right to know. Won’t you come with us?”

The girl gave him a baffled look. “Wait, to where?”

“Yeah, where are we going?” Ryuji questioned. Ann scratched her head.

“Beats me...”

Ren rolled his eyes and started walking; the others followed, Makoto included. Her open confusion only deepened as the world around her began to warp.

* * *

They finally reached the bank. There, Kaneshiro’s Shadow had made himself known and mocked the group— in particular, Makoto. He dangled her sister’s name, Sae Niijima, an up-and-coming prosecutor, over her head.

Then he had laughed boisterously. Rage filled every single one of their hearts— including Makoto, who called out to her Persona. One painful awakening later freed her from the expectations thrust upon her, and she came out of the flames on a motorcycle named Johanna.

When they left the Metaverse, Makoto was crouching on the ground if the walkway they called their hideout, panting and hunched over as she fought for breath. Yusuke kneeled down beside her, while Ryuji and Ann stared at her, still stunned.

“Talk about wild,” Ryuji breathed, “that was no aikido— that was some hardcore asswhooping!”

Ann nodded and winced. “I am SO not pissing her off... I feel like she’ll rip off my arm.”

Yusuke sighed. “She does exude that aura...”

Makoto groaned. “Oh, stop it!” she chastised as she pushed herself up shakily. Exhaustion filled her words as shecrossed her arms. “This is the most exhausted I have ever gotten in these past few years...” She smiled softly. “Though... it felt pretty great. I never thought I’d become one of the Phantom Thieves I was after. Sis might faint if she found out.”

It was then Ren heard her father whisper in his ear with a deadly serious tone. 

“We’ll talk about this. Later.”

* * *

True to his word, Makoto’s father was waiting for him as Ren arrived home. The boy had elected to make a quick stop at the bathhouse on the way back, and his hair was still damp as he entered the cafe. It was very late, though the city was still illuminated by countless lights as he headed home. The cafe was smothered in darkness, but Ren proceeded through it up the stairs to his room.

As soon as he turned on the light, the man was waiting, his arms crossed. Ren stiffened and took a step back.

“Niijima-san!”

Morgana’s eyes widened. “What’s— is he here?”

“Yes,” the man said sternly, “I am.”

“He is.” Ren confirmed warily.

The cat huffed and jumped out of the bag. “Niijima-san, we understand your concern, but we had no other options!”

“I know.” 

Ren blinked. “You do?”

Sighing heavily, the ghost uncrossed his arms. His expression sobered as he shook his head. “I know it’s true; you all did nothing wrong, but I fear for her. She is a Phantom Thief now, and I could sense the Persona inside of her as soon as you all reappeared.”

“You can...” Ren cocked his head to the side. “You can feel our Personas?”

The man nodded. “Yes. I’m not sure how to describe it, but you Persona users feel... whole. Solid. That doesn’t quite do it justice, but your souls have quite a distinct sensation to them.” 

“If we feel different, then... what happens to a person’s Shadow when they die, if they don’t unite?”

Niijima-san waved a hand back and forth as he thought for a minute before continuing. “Ghosts don’t automatically unite with their Shadows like you do. They can sometimes, but not always.” He laughed dryly. “Have you ever heard about places being haunted, with the creepy atmosphere? People seeing glimpses of ghosts? That’s actually usually due to the ghost’s Shadow lingering, not the ghost proper. Sometimes those even stay behind after the ghost crosses over, but they eventually fade away. From there, I’m not sure.” He shuddered. “Even we ghosts are creeped out by them.”

Ren frowned uncomfortably. “Well... that’s unsettling. So... about Makoto...”

The man nodded. “Though it pains me to admit it, as I mentioned earlier, Makoto is a Persona user and a Phantom Thief now. I cannot stop her, nor can you, and she has to fix her mistake.” He smiled softly. “Then again, this is exactly what she needed to do to break free from societal expectations. I’m proud of her, but I’m also worried for her. She can defend herself, but... you’re her teammate now. I’m expecting all of you to do whatever you can for each other.” 

Ren smiled. “I will, but she can handle herself. You weren’t there for her Awakening; she took it like an absolute champ and kicked ass.”

Though still frustrated from lack of understanding, Morgana smiled. “That’s true! She’s powerful, and she’ll be an important part of the team.”

The man chuckled softly and sighed, scratching his chin. “That’s my girl. Alright; I’m going for now to go stay with her, but I’ll be checking in.” He waved a hand. “The rest is up to you, Phantom Thieves.”

With that, he vanished. Ren let out an exhausted sigh and walked toward his bed. He stared down at it for a moment longingly before turning around to go fetch his pajamas. When he returned to the bed, he fell face-first into the cushions and exhaled loudly. 

Morgana followed after him and poked his arm with a paw. The boy turned his neck to look at Morgana with half his face still smashed against the mattress. The cat cleared his throat.

“Don’t think you’re leaving me in the dark. I want to know everything he told you.”

Ren groaned and squeezed his eyes shut. “Can’t it wait until morning?”

“No.”

“Damn.” He let out a long groan before opening the one eye that wasn’t on the side of his face pushed against the mattress. “Fine. Here’s what he said...”

When he was done recalling everything that was said, Morgana was cringing. “So... haunted places are really just occupied by lingering deceased people’s Shadows? That’s creepy. Anyways...” He smiled. “I’m glad to hear that Makoto’s dad has accepted that she’s a Phantom Thief, and that she can defend herself. She’s freed herself and grasped her will of rebellion.” His smile faded, and he huffed. “You know, you should probably tell her that you can see her dad, but we still have to deal with Yusuke’s—“

Snores erupted from Ren. The cat paused and stared down at the teen. He bit back a groan. “He did that on purpose, I know it. Anyways... first Yusuke... now Makoto. Not to mention his gifts... this guy has quite the talent. Could it mean something more?”

A short silence passed, and finally, the cat chuckled to himself. “Naaah. Couldn’t be... sleep well, Joker. We have a lot of work ahead of us...”


	8. Instituting a Deadline

Ren was running late. He had texted the team to inform them he needed to stock up on SP restoring items before heading into the Palace, and would be a few minutes late. Ryuji and Ann responded quickly that he was fine, and they could wait.

Ann asked Makoto to be there early. The newest Phantom Thief obliged, and chose to follow Ann to the meeting space. Ryuji and Yusuke trailed shortly after her, and after a furtive look around, eyes turned to Makoto. She noted the nervous looks on their faces.

“Alright,” Ann started, her voice lowered, “Ren isn’t here yet, so this is a good opportunity to talk about something he won’t tell you on his own.”

Makoto frowned. “Is it Phantom Thief related?”

“Yes and no,” Yusuke replied, “it’s not exclusive to our activities, but it’s something you should know about him. Have you ever noticed him freeze up and stare off into space with an odd look on his face?” 

Makoto nodded. “I have. Several times; there was when I met him in the council office, several times yesterday, and a few times when I was... spying. Is there something wrong with him?”

Ryuji shrugged, leaning against the railing along the wall. “I dunno that you’d say it’s somethin’ wrong with him. It’s weird, but whatever he’s doin’ has been helpin’ us. Whenever he goes into that, he comes out of it with useful info, like Madarame’s treasure and crimes...”

“And last night, where you went.” Ann added as Makoto’s brows lifted. “He was able to guide us through Shibuya right to where Kaneshiro’s guys were taking you. Ren may have saved your life because we were able to quickly follow you.”

“So...” Makoto put a hand on her chin and hummed thoughtfully. She looked up. “He’s never said what it is he’s doing, how he gets that information?”

“Nope,” Ryuji said with an eye roll, “and if you try to ask him what he’s doing, he gets real touchy about it.”

Yusuke huffed indignantly and crossed his arms. “It vexes us. We theorize he’s a psychic of some sort with no control over his ability and for some reason is embarrassed to tell us, but we don’t know for sure.”

“So, yeah,” Ann continued, hands behind her back, “we thought we’d warn you about that. No need to be alarmed or anything, but don’t question him about it. He’s gotten mad at us a few times for asking.”

“... I see.” Makoto cleared her throat and put a hand to her head as she sighed wearily. “I can’t doubt it. I know this is all real, but...” She pulled her hand away and nodded. “Thank you for informing me. I’ll keep in mind that it’s a sensitive topic.”

“What’s a sensitive topic?”

Makoto yelped and turned on her heel to see a befuddled Ren carrying a bag full of miscellaneous soft drinks. Morgana, propped up on his shoulder, looked over the bewildered team, looking as though they had been caught red handed. Ren blinked.

“Uh... did I do something?”

“I think they were probably talking about... you know what.” Morgana replied bluntly. The others winced while Ren’s face flew through several emotions at once— despair, frustration, and exhaustion. Finally, the boy just sighed.

“Moving on,” he huffed, “let’s talk about the situation at hand, and then we’ll head into the Palace...”

“Keep her safe, and she’ll keep you safe.” he heard her father’s voice. It came from behind, but he didn’t dare turn around to look. He hoped the others didn’t notice him briefly stiffen as he called the meeting to order.

* * *

Ren sighed tiredly as he left the bathhouse and made a beeline for Leblanc. The first day of real infiltration had gone very well with their newest member Queen at their side, who proved to be a brilliant strategist. They had even made it to the elevator that would lead them down to the depths of the bank; though the situation was dire, Joker couldn’t help but be in awe of the sheer size and scale of the labyrinth to the treasure.

All were exhausted but proud as they reached the safe room. Joker had eyed Queen nervously, who seemed exhausted but full of fire. While he had suggested taking their time and going slow the first day, Queen had her heart set on making Kaneshiro pay. It was finally at that saferoom that Joker declared it was time to call it quits; thankfully, no one objected. 

The bell above the door jingled at his entry, a familiar sound welcoming him home. It was accompanied by Sojiro’s usual “ah, you’re back.” He nodded and headed past the man, who was distracted washing something. Ren spied Wakaba sitting at the bar, elbow on the surface as she propped her head up. She turned to him and smiled.

“Welcome home.” She shrugged in the direction of the stairs. “You have a visitor.”

Ren’s face twisted to befuddlement. She just shrugged, so after a moment, he nodded and headed upstairs. As he went, he didn’t notice Sojiro giving him a funny look as he went. 

“Why can’t I talk to my son yet?!”

Ren let out a sharp cry of alarm accompanied shortly thereafter by a startled cry from Morgana as he came face-to-face with Yusuke’s irate mother. He slapped a hand over his mouth as he heard Sojiro call, sounding concerned.

“Kid, are you okay?”

“Fine!” he called back hoarsely, eyes comically wide and his face white as he continued to stare at the ghost. “Just saw a big spider is all!”

He could practically imagine Sojiro’s eye-roll as he barely heard a muttered annoyed “for the love of...” downstairs. Ren clutched a hand to his chest and could feel his heart beating out of his chest.

“Don’t scare me like that!” he hissed. Yusuke’s mother scoffed and crossed her arms.

“Wakaba should have warned you.”

“I didn’t think my guest would jump out at me the second I came upstairs!” 

Morgana groaned and hopped out of the bag, onto the tabletop where Ren usually put his bag. “Who’s our visitor?”

“Yusuke’s mother.” He sighed and grimaced. “Kitagawa-san—”

“You’re taking too long to work up the courage to tell my son the truth so I may speak to him one last time!” She glared at him, her fists clenching. “I have been stuck on this earth for 13 years! I want to rest! Why won’t you act?!”

Ren gulped as Morgana sighed. “I can’t hear what’s going on, but I’m guessing she’s mad that you’re taking your sweet time to hold a conversation between her and Yusuke?”

“Indeed!” she huffed. “You’re being selfish and cowardly! You—”

“You have no idea what I’ve been through!” Ren hissed as he glared right back at her. “Maybe there’s a reason I’m acting the way I am!”

Both stared at each other with mixed frustration and despair, both panting with their strong emotions. Finally, Ren closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Kitagawa huffed.

“If you don’t do it soon, I’ll haunt you day and night until you do.”

Ren winced and groaned. “Okay, okay!” he opened his eyes and grimaced. “How about we do this? Let us finish the Palace we’re working through, and as soon as we’re done, I’ll—” He gulped. “... I’ll... tell Yusuke the truth, so you two can talk.”

Kitagawa stared at him for several long moments before wearily sighing and nodding. 

“Very well,” she acquiesced, much calmer, “but I’m holding you to that.”

With that, she disappeared. Ren stood, dazedly staring across his room. Cold dread filled him as he ran a hand over his face and walked toward his bed, where he unceremoniously faceplanted into the mattress. A moment later, he felt Morgana prodding his arm.

“Ren...”

Ren let out a drawn-out groan into the mattress. A second or two after that was done, he sat up and looked down at a waiting Morgana with dead eyes.

“I’m fucked.” he griped. Morgana huffed.

“It’d help if you can tell me what she said... but I caught that part about telling Yusuke.”

The boy winced and recounted the exchange. When he was done, Morgana just looked exasperated more than anything. “It’s about time!” he huffed. “I don’t blame her for getting impatient!”

Ren didn’t respond. He just hung his head as Morgana stared at him. Finally, the cat let out a tired sigh and nudged him again, prompting his attention.

“You said you had gone through a lot... and I remember you said everyone hurt you when I found out. Do... you want to talk about it?”

The boy stared down at the cat soberly for several long moments. Eventually, he shrugged and looked away.

“... My mom and dad stifled me harshly.” he admitted. “When I was a small child, my grandpa died, just a few years after my grandmother, who died not long before my birth. Grandpa said goodbye and... told me some things only he and my parents would know. I tried to tell them, but they...” He gulped. “They got mad. Really mad, even with proof. They screamed at me that ghosts don’t exist, that I was just seeking attention. Dad asked why I couldn’t just be normal.”

Morgana’s ears leaned back. “Ren, that’s...”

“That’s not all.” He sighed and shook his head. “There were... a few other incidents. Most of the time, the kids just thought I was playing make-believe or was just flat out crazy. Once there was a girl at school who had just lost her mother. I saw her mother and tried to intercede on her behalf.” He shivered. “It... did not go well, and my parents... were not happy.”

“Ren—”

“So I started pretending I saw nothing. It was easier than being a pariah. By high school, everyone had let it go, and I realized it was easier. But then...” He clenched a fist and his eyes darkened. “I made the mistake of listening to a ghost plead for my help, to save her sister one night... the night I got arrested.” He turned to a bewildered Morgana. “Can’t you see why I don’t like doing this? Why I’m absolutely fucking terrified of having Yusuke hate me or claim I’m just using his suffering to get attention?”

Ren gasped for breath. His face was red by this point and tears clung at the corners of his eyes. Morgana stared at him, jaw loose. A long silence passed before he spoke again.

“Ren...” His voice was gentle as could be and pitying. “That’s awful. I’m so sorry you had to go through all of that.” He paused. “Um... while it’s true you suffered... do you really regret helping that one ghost that night? Were you willing to let her sister be abducted?”

The boy sighed and shook his head. “Arsene asked me a similar question, right before I awakened to my Persona. No. I don’t, but... it still hurts.”

“I know.” Morgana nudged him. “But you did the right thing. You saved that woman, and it was partially due to your gift. Ren... I know you’re scared, for understandable reasons. But Yusuke will understand; he’s seen the indirect results of your gift, and his mom wants to rest.” At Ren’s silence, he sat and smiled. “How about this?”

“Hmm?”

“Yes, you’ll tell Yusuke the truth. He’ll be our test run for the rest of the team; he’s eccentric as it is and has seen enough to not doubt you. We can ask him to be quiet until you’re ready for the rest of the team.” He pushed himself against Ren. “And I’ll be with you the whole time. I’ll back you up and help however I can. We’ll make this work.”

Ren stared at the cat for a long time as Morgana met his gaze. He opened and closed his mouth a few times. After a long pause, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and nodded.

“Okay.”


	9. Masumi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The pandemic keeping me inside, while it gives me cabin fever something fierce, at least has me writing a lot. Oof.

Ren almost thought about dragging the Palace exploration out, but Morgana admonished him to get it done for everyone’s sakes, including his.

“You’ll just make it worse dragging it out,” Mona had said firmly, “you’ll feel better once it’s done.”

In the meanwhile, he decided to focus on the Palace. Once they reached the vault, the situation became an even bigger pain in the ass. While at first glance, he had marveled at the sight of how expansive the labyrinth of vaults and locks was to the treasure, he quickly grew to resent it. Jumping past what felt like endless cameras looking for endless notes grew tiresome.

“Joker,” Skull griped at the second lock, “please, for the love of God, tell me your special gift told you a work-around for this.”

Joker just groaned. “Oh, how I wish, Skull.”

Still, they eventually made their way to the treasure, and Joker realized the deadline— not the Palace deadline— was nigh. He suddenly felt cold dread in his heart, cold as Goemon’s power. 

The team had agreed the next day to send out the calling card, though Ren only agreed halfheartedly. 

“Do you think if I feigned being suddenly violently ill, they’d be willing to put it off?” Ren had asked Morgana. The cat scowled, best a cat could, anyways.

“Ren...” He spoke the name as an admonishment. Ren grimaced and held his hands up.

“Fine! Fine...”

Sojiro seemed to notice his anxiety, and asked what was wrong, but Ren dismissed his concern and reassured him he was fine. The man was unconvinced and shook his head.

“If it’s girl trouble, I don’t mind talking on that front.”

“That’s not— no, Sakura-san, but thanks.”

“Boy trouble, then?”

The boy shook his head. As he walked away, Sojiro swore he heard him mutter “I wish it was that sort of trouble...”

Even with his preoccupation, the calling card and final Palace infiltration went smoothly. Shadow Kaneshiro turning into a fly was gross, and Piggytron was a pain in the ass that made them work for it, they eventually succeeded and seized the treasure. Kaneshiro had said something about a black mask, another Persona user, and then faded. Joker was almost too preoccupied to be worried about it, but he filed it away as a concern to address later.

He knew what he had to do that day as they unceremoniously crashed to the hard, unforgiving ground upon escaping the Palace. Poor Morgana had nearly been crushed to death by the treasure, a briefcase in the real world. They took it to his room, all excitedly chattering about coffee and curry they were craving. Ren wished he could be that carefree.

He could feel his heart beating out of his chest as the others fussed over the treasure. His attention was barely roused even as a Makoto managed to open it and reveal stacks of (unfortunately fake) money, much to Ryuji’s despair. He thought he was doing a good time hiding his anxiety, though, until Makoto was done laughing over Ann’s comment about “busting the case.”

“Ren, are you feeling alright?” Makoto questioned. The boy stiffened as eyes fell on him. “You’re very pale, and you seemed very distracted today, even given what was happening.”

“Oh.” Ren cleared his throat and forced a shaky smile. “I’m fine.”

His voice squeaked on the last syllable. Ann frowned and reached out to touch his forehead. Her frown didn’t fade, and only deepened. “You feel really clammy. And sweaty.”

“Oh, gross, sorry.” Ren apologized as she pulled her hand away. She shook her head.

“It’s fine, I’ll wash my hand in a second. I’m just worried about you; I think you’re coming down with something.”

“Wai—” She stood up and headed downstairs to wash her hand. Ren groaned as she left. “I’m not sick...”

“No worries, man,” Ryuji reassured with a smile, “it happens. At least you held out ‘til we were done with the Palace, right?” 

“Can we get you anything?” Yusuke agreed, frowning worriedly. Ren shook his head.

“N— No. Thanks.”

Makoto stood up and shook her head. “If you’re feeling unwell, you need to rest. We have exams soon and you need to have your strength for that.”

“But I—”

“No buts.” Makoto pointed toward the bed. “Go lay down.”

Ann came up the stairs and waved. “I told Boss you seem sick. He said he’s bringing you a cup of tea.”

Ren wilted under the expectant looks of his friends. Slowly, he nodded. “Fine...” he muttered reluctantly. Ryuji sighed and frowned.

“Sure you don’t need anythin’ before we go?”

“Thanks, but I’ll be fine. I’ll lay down and sleep it off.” he said as he forced a smile. The others shared reluctant looks and began bidding farewells for the day. They passed Sojiro heading up the stairs with a cup of tea. Yusuke was almost the last one out when he felt his phone buzz.

As he lifted it from his pocket, his brows lifted at the contents.

_**Ren:** Don’t tell the others about this.  _

_**Ren:** Can you come by around 9 pm? I have something I need to speak with you about and that’s when Sojiro closes up shop. He’ll be fine with you visiting. _

Yusuke stopped halfway on his way out of Yongen and stared at the text in befuddlement. He typed his response and continued walking, though his eyes remained on the screen— a move he knew was ill-advised, but he couldn’t restrain his confusion and curiosity.

_**Yusuke:** May I ask what this is about? _

He waited for several moments before a response came.

_**Ren:** I can’t tell you by text. Please humor me. _

Yusuke had stopped some distance away from the train station as he stared down at his phone with a baffled expression. After a moment, he huffed and replied.

_**Yusuke:** Very well. I’ll see you then. _

* * *

Ren could still feel his heart beating out of his chest as he stared at the clock on his phone, counting the minutes. Second by second seemed to drag on painfully slowly.

“Ren, remember to breathe.” Morgana urged. Yusuke’s mother nodded from where she stood in his attic, her arms crossed with impatience. She tapped her index finger against her opposite arm.

He found the reminder difficult to acknowledge as he heard Sojiro’s voice from downstairs.

“You’ve got a visitor, kid. I’m about to close up; he’s your responsibility. Make sure you don’t get him sick, too.”

Ren took a long, shaky breath as he stood up and hesitantly walked downstairs. As he made it to the ground floor, his hands in his pockets, Sojiro waved from the door and left, the bell jingling at his exit. Yusuke was waiting patiently at the stool closest to the stairs. He winced at his appearance.

“Are you sure you’re feeling well enough for whatever this is about? You look dreadful.”

“I’m sure.” 

There was a pause. Ren swallowed hard and waved a hand along. “Please, follow me.”

Yusuke promptly followed him upstairs. Ren’s heart was beating out of his chest as they made it to the attic. Morgana trotted up to Ren’s side and Yusuke’s mother drew near as Ren sucked in a breath.

“Thanks for coming.” 

“Gladly.”

An awkward silence passed. Morgana sighed and nudged Ren’s leg. “Ren. Breathe.”

“... Right.” Ren took a long, shuddering breath as Yusuke stared at him expectantly. Ren scratched the back of his neck and looked away. “Okay. So. This is about... my... ability, I guess, that I don’t want the others to know yet, which is how I knew what Madarame was doing and his treasure.”

Yusuke was silent. Ren continued not to look at his face as he kept speaking. “The— the reason I called you here is because it has to do with your mother. While I’m... not looking forward to this talk, I couldn’t put it off any longer.”

“Tell me.”

Ren gave Yusuke a wide-eyed stare. The artist just met his gaze with an anxious, impatient huff. “I have seen too much to be surprised by anything,” he huffed, “tell me the truth.”

“Right.”

“Yusuke,” Morgana piped up, drawing the boy’s attention, “Ren is really, REALLY nervous about this— and your reaction. What he’s about to tell you— I promise he’s not making it up. Just hear him out.”

“I have all intentions of doing that.” Yusuke nodded. “Speak.”

Ren felt his chest and heart seize up with momentary paralysis born of dread. Still, the moment passed. He swallowed it back, hard, and finally spoke the truth while avoiding everyone’s eyes.

“I can see ghosts.”

The silence that followed made it possible to hear a pin drop. Ren braced himself for hate, disdain, anger, disbelief— but he just heard Yusuke breathe shakily.

“M— Mother...” He gasped softly. “Is... is that who...?”

Ren couldn’t bring himself to look. He just swallowed hard and nodded. “I know it sounds crazy, but she— she told me everything ahead of time. I saw her the first time we were in the atelier. She’s been watching you for the last thirteen years.”

There was a long, painful pause. Both boys breathed heavily, one with anxiety and one with barely controlled emotion. Finally, a frustrated noise escaped him.

“You should have told me immediately.”

Ren warily looked up at him and sighed guiltily. “I know. Your mother finally got impatient with me and demanded this meeting.”

Yusuke met his eyes. The boy was breaking out in tears, but he didn’t look overly shocked. He took a shuddering breath. “We’ll talk about that later.” he said. “My mother... is she here?”

“Yes.” his tearful mother said.

“Yes.” Ren said, scarcely able to maintain his stoic persona. Yusuke breathed and... smiled. 

“So this was what you were hiding this whole time...” A strange chuckle escaped him. “How wonderful... how fortuitous. I have so many questions.”

His mother giggled. “I have things to tell him, too, but he can go first.”

Ren blinked. “You... you believe me?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Yusuke asked with a shrug. He raised a brow at him and cocked his head to the side. “I can’t imagine why you thought I wouldn’t. Now, I humbly ask for your assistance.”

Ren stared, jaw loose and eyes wide. Morgana beamed. “See?! It’s okay!”

After a moment, Ren let out an odd noise that sounded like a choked laugh and sighof relief rolled into one. Finally, he swallowed hard and nodded. “She said she has things she wants to tell you but that you can go first.”

“Right. Thank you.” Yusuke crossed his arms. “What is your name?”

“Masumi Kitagawa.” she answered. “‘Sayuri’ was not my name.”

Ren repeated the information. Yusuke pulled a notepad from a pocket and began feverishly taking notes. 

“What a lovely name,” he said giddily, “what of my father?”

“Ah.” Masumi’s voice suddenly grew gloomy. “He was one of Madarame’s apprentices, too. He died in a car crash when I was pregnant with you. His name was Yuichi Kitagawa.”

Yet again Ren repeated the information. Yusuke seemed shaken, but jotted down the information. He paused, his hands shaking. The boy swallowed hard and continued. “What inspired you to paint the Sayuri?”

Masumi sighed heavily and shrugged, her hands clasped together. “My health declined in the years following your birth. I had always been in poor health and was prone to seizures, ones that could sometimes go on for lengthy periods. Madarame didn’t help— he made me feel bad for wanting aid, and said that I should have been grateful just to stay in his atelier. He declined taking me to a specialist, to someone who could get me medicine to control my seizures.” 

Ren grit his teeth and clenched his fists; his knuckles whitened. Yusuke noticed his reaction and blanched as his mother went on. “At some point... I wasn’t sure I was going to last another year. So I decided to devote my last painting to you, so you would know how much I love you. I began saving all my proceeds from my work that I could scrounge without telling Madarame and saved it for you.” She clenched a fist and shook. “I knew Madarame was a bastard, but to violate the most precious piece of art I dedicated to you...”

Though still shaking with anger, Ren shared it promptly with Yusuke. Yusuke’s face reddened with rage, and his voice was just as angry as his eyes. “So, not only did Madarame violate a painting he knew was for me, he denied you medical care years prior to your death.” Tears stung his eyes as he shook his head. “Your death was wholly preventable.”

His mother sighed heavily. “Yes, I know. I’ve grappled with anger for years over it, especially over what he was doing to you in addition to all of that. I tried to haunt him and scare him into submission, but nothing worked.” She stopped and smiled gratefully at Ren. “But... thanks to the Phantom Thieves, I have finally been avenged, and you have been set free.”

Ren repeated it back to Yusuke. The boy, only marginally reassured by her statement, excused himself. He headed downstairs for a moment to regain his composure. When he came back up, his eyes were dark with exhaustion.

“I see.” he finally murmured. He choked on a sob. “I’m glad you’re free— that we’re both free. Mother... thank you for all you did. I had no idea I was loved so much.”

Masumi smiled and reached out. Yusuke shivered as he felt a cool sensation caress his cheek. “More than life itself— literally. You were the light of my life, and it pained me to watch Madarame take advantage of you, too. I am eternally grateful for the Phantom Thieves’ aid, and so, so proud of you for joining their ranks and rising above Madarame.”

This time, Ren was struggling to hold back tears as he told Yusuke. Yusuke shamelessly broke into a sob and wiped his eyes, but he was beaming. 

“Oh, Mother...”

“Do you have any other questions?”

“I actually have one, before you go.” Ren glanced over at Yusuke, who gave him a funny look. “It might be prudent to share any important medical information that could affect Yusuke, so he knows his family history and risk factors for future conditions.”

Yusuke’s eyes widened, and he nodded vigorously. “Yes, indeed! I had not even considered that! This could be my final chance!”

His mother willingly shared the information. Ren translated and Yusuke continued to take notes. From there, Yusuke asked many more questions. During it, Ren slowly relaxed into the role and translated. Morgana remained silent and watched.

Finally, Yusuke looked up into the seemingly empty space Ren was looking into. “I have one last question.”

“Yes?”

“Go for it, Yusuke.” Ren replied. Yusuke nodded and sighed heavily.

“I have been having great trouble with inspiration. Ever since Madarame’s Palace, I have been plagued by an artist’s block. How did you get out of your artist blocks?”

Masumi smiled. “Ah, a mystery that’s plagued artists for ages. I’m afraid there’s no easy answer to that— but what I did is I went out and experienced new things with my lover. When I wasn’t doing that, I meditated and pondered my inner state and outer surroundings. What works for me may not work for you, but if you are struggling, continue adventuring with your friends and living. You’ll get back into the swing of things; I have faith in you.”

Ren repeated it back. Yusuke’s eyes widened as he looked at Ren, and he nodded vigorously. “Oh, yes! Why didn’t I think of that earlier? Ren, you shall have to help me!”

The other boy laughed and smiled softly. “You can count on me.”

Masumi cleared her throat and clutched her hands together. “I can feel my presence growing weaker. With my business finally concluded, my time here is fleeting, and I must move on. I would like to spend my last moments here telling you something, Yusuke.”

Ren translated, and Yusuke nodded vigorously, though tears filled his eyes. He sniffled.

“I— I wish you could stay, but I understand. Please, speak.”

Masumi was tearing up herself. “I’m sorry I didn’t do more to try to get us out of Madarame’s atelier. You suffered needlessly for years because I was too afraid to flee. I started saving money in hopes I could raise enough to escape, but I died before I could flee with you. I should have left earlier for your sake.”

Ren looked and sounded pained as he shared the information with Yusuke, who quickly shook his head.

“You did nothing wrong, mother. It wasn’t your fault. Madarame was an abuser, and it can be incredibly difficult to free yourself from an abusive relationship... as I would know.” He smiled weakly. “Even after all of that... I am alive, I am in good company, and I am free. I will recover with their help; I will be okay.” He sniffled. “I... I love you, mother.”

Masumi sniffled, too, wiping her eyes. Ren was beginning to have trouble seeing her as her body lit up. “I’m so happy to hear that... I love you, too, and always will. We’ll meet again one day, my love, but hopefully not too soon. You deserve a long and beautiful life, but be assured that I will always be watching over you.” Her form was so bright Ren could no longer see anything but the shape of her. “One last thing... I put my saved money under a loose floorboard beneath a shelf against the back wall of your room. Madarame never noticed it, so go take what’s there.” She waved. “I must go now; your father is calling. Goodbye, my love.”

With that, she finally disappeared with a flourish of light. All of them could feel a rush of air push against them as the light faded. Yusuke shivered.

“She’s gone, isn’t she?”

Ren swallowed hard and nodded. “She is. Let me tell you what she said before she went...”

When he was done recounting everything, Yusuke threw his arms around him, openly sobbing, his face red and wet with tears and snot. Ren stiffened, but after a moment, slowly lifted his arms and returned the hug. They remained like that for a long time; Ren felt utterly exhausted, but let Yusuke hang onto him as long as he needed.

When Yusuke finally pulled away from him, he gripped him by the sides of his arms and locked eyes with him. The artist beamed at him. “You have a beautiful gift, Ren.” he praised with great adoration. “Please never feel shame over it ever again. I cannot thank you enough for all you did, for both of us.”

“I told you he’d be okay with it.” Morgana piped up smugly, breaking his long silence. Yusuke shook his head, his eyes almost comically wide with excitement.

“Okay? _Okay?!_ I’m positively thrilled about this! His gift is what set my mother free and helped us!” Yusuke gave a wincing Ren an incredulous stare. “Why in the world did you think you had to hide this from me?! Why don’t you tell the others? They will not shun you! They will no doubt be as proud as I am!”

“Yusuke— Yusuke!” Ren groaned and held his hands up. Yusuke pulled back reluctantly as Ren heaved a sigh and smiled tiredly. “I’m glad you accept me, and I’m glad I could help, but I’m exhausted. Can this wait until morning?”

Yusuke’s shoulders fell, and his eyes softened. He sighed wearily and hung his head. “You— you are right. I am weary as well. Tomorrow is a Sunday, and the trains have long since stopped running; I shall stay here for the night, and we will continue this conversation first thing tomorrow. Then we need to visit the atelier to look for the spot in the floor my mother described.”

Ren nodded slowly. “Sounds great; let’s do that. Just don’t tell the others.”

With that, he walked toward his bed and promptly faceplanted into it. Morgana sighed and shook his head. “There he goes again...” He turned to Yusuke and looked up. “Go easy on him, alright? He’s extremely sensitive about this for a reason.”

Yusuke frowned. “That sounds serious... what happened to him that caused his deep-seated fear of himself and others?”

“He can tell you himself in the morning.” Morgana yawned, his mouth opening wide to reveal two small, sharp incisors. “For now, let’s go to bed.”

Yusuke found the cat’s order to bed oddly authoritative, and complied with no complaint. It didn’t stop him from peering over at fast-asleep Ren from the couch and wondering what had happened to him to make him so fearful. 

Morgana’s order also didn’t stop him from checking the names of his mother and father, as given by Ren. Though exhausted, he searched for some time, albeit with a paucity of results. He wasn’t able to find anything more than their names and dates of births to deaths at a funeral home, with no pictures nor descriptions. Anger rose in his throat at the lack of information, and he cursed Madarame.

When exhaustion finally overrode all other desires, he peered over at Ren’s sleeping form one last time.

“Thank you.” he whispered, and to sleep he finally went.


	10. Explanations

Ren woke up still feeling tired. The sun trickled out of his window, over his eyes that he had squeezed shut. He remembered Yusuke was there, but prayed the boy was alright with him sleeping in.

Unfortunately, he found no such luck. His phone began to ring. Ren groaned and sat upright, eyes squeezed shut still. His hand fumbled for his phone, and he answered it without looking at the caller as he pulled it to his ear.

“Hello?” he drowsily greeted.

_“Good morning,”_ Makoto’s voice came, _“I’m sorry, did I wake you?”_

“I’m still asleep.” he said wryly. His eyes finally fluttered open with repeated blinking; he glanced down and saw Morgana was yawning and peering up curiously at him. Yusuke was sitting up on the couch and stretching his arms. Ren could hear Makoto giggle.

_ “Well, you must be awake if you’re able to joke. I have some news about Kaneshiro.” _

“Hang on, is it alright if I put you on speakerphone so Morgana can hear?”

_ “By all means.” _

Ren looked up. “Its Makoto. News about Kaneshiro.” He set his phone to speakerphone and cleared his throat. “Thanks. Please continue, Makoto.”

_ “Gladly. It’s good news: Kaneshiro has contacted me to inform me that he deleted the pictures and called off the debt.”  _

Ren let out a sigh of relief while Yusuke smiled and nodded. “That’s great to hear.” he said. 

_“That’s not all. He also turned himself in; he was taken immediately into police custody.”_ All boys gasped quietly at the news. Makoto cleared her throat. _“It seems they did not want him to... disappear, if you know what I mean. The news hasn’t been released yet. Does this mean... the change of heart worked?”_

“Sounds like it.” Morgana said cheerfully. “Another successful mission under our belts, but we shouldn’t rest on our laurels too soon.”

_“True.”_ Makoto admitted. _“We should have a meeting about this later, but... I just wanted to share the good news.”_

Ren smiled. “Thanks, Makoto. I appreciate it. I’ll contact the team soon and we can work out our next plans; I already have some ideas.”

_ “That’s great, but we also need to keep in mind that finals are soon, and you should be resting. We should bear that in mind so we can schedule our time appropriately.” _

“Duly noted.” Ren acknowledged. “I’ll work out a schedule soon, but I promise not to overdo it.”

_ “Very well; I’ll speak with you later. Goodbye.” _

Ren hung up and flopped backwards onto the bed, his arms outstretched as he let out a deep sigh of relief.

“Another success.” Yusuke remarked proudly from the couch. “He was a target who needed the change. I’m glad to hear our work bore fruit.”

“Same.”

There was a pause. Morgana padded forward and gently patted Ren’s arm. “This means we need to get started on Futaba-chan’s Palace soon.”

“Who’s Futaba-chan?”

Ren groaned and sat up to look at Yusuke, who met his eyes with a befuddled stare. He paused as he briefly recounted the events of last night.

Yusuke knew. Yusuke really knew, and yet, there he sat, fully aware of Ren’s ability to see the dead but... not remotely uncomfortable. 

Finally, Ren took a breath and nodded. “I owe you an explanation on that, and about myself, don’t I?”

“Indeed you do.”

Ren stared quietly at him for a moment before yawning again and stretching his arms up. “Well... I’ll bring you up to speed on the situation, then.”

* * *

The conversation wasn’t a fun one, but Ren soldiered on and shared his backstory, Wakaba, and her requests for Ren to save her daughter. He spoke in short, blunt detail, but did not skip any relevant information. When he was done, Yusuke was staring at him with what Ren estimated to be pity.

“My goodness,” he finally said sympathetically, “you truly did have a hard time leading up until now. It’s little wonder you were so afraid.” He let out a long sigh and pulled a bent leg up, wrapping his arms around it as he stared thoughtfully at Ren. The boy just shrugged shyly and looked away.

“I was just... well. For a long time, my parents made me wonder if I truly was just crazy. They instilled a strong sense of shame. So... while I know it’s true now, being away from them, it’s going to take me a very long time to fully come to terms with this... facet of myself.”

“Your parents are wrong.” Yusuke spat angrily, scowling. “They should have accepted this part of you and been helping you, not doubting and filling you with self-hatred and fear.”

Morgana nodded and scratched an ear. “Your parents may not accept you, but we do.” he reassured. “You’re not crazy. We all saw that last night with Yusuke, and for all you’ve already done for the team.”

Ren shrugged. “It’s still weird, though. And I wish I didn’t see ghosts.”

Yusuke’s eyes hardened immediately. “Don’t say that ever again!” he scolded, glaring at him as he flinched. “My mother may have never known peace if it wasn’t for you! However long it takes, I will ensure you eventually see how blessed you are to have this ability!” Ren stared, wide-eyed, as Yusuke crossed his arms. The artist scoffed. “Society is so cruel and fearful of those who are truly unique. It is a terrible shame you’ve had to feel the way you do for so long.”

Ren was silent, unsure how to respond. Yusuke smiled reassuringly and continued. “I’ll forgive you for the delay in speaking to my mother, given your circumstances. Your story is sad, but one that I know all too well— the world is not kind to those who are different.” He smiled. “I feel honored to be among the very, very few who know of your wonderful gift.”

Ren smiled weakly. “Thanks. You don’t know how relieved I am to hear you say that.”

Yusuke nodded, but his smile faded. “That aside, this business with Futaba-chan troubles me. Of course we must help the girl if she is trapped in a labyrinth of her own heart, but...” He put his leg down and crossed his arms, and put one leg over the other. “How is she spying on us, where, and when? How much does she know?”

“I don’t know.” Ren admitted. “Her mother just leaves when I try to ask.”

“I don’t want you meddling with anything she’s doing.”

Ren jolted and looked to his left to see Wakaba had appeared, calm as ever. He scowled and clutched his chest. “Don’t do that to me! Why do you ghosts do that?!”

Morgana snickered and Yusuke just stared silently as Ren stared up at Wakaba. The woman shrugged. “It comes with the territory. Anyways, I don’t want you touching, meddling, or otherwise interfering with anything my daughter is doing right now. She is getting very close to finally asking you for help— now is a critical time, and I won’t have you interfere with the process.”

Ren frowned. “Couldn’t we just start working on her Palace straight away?”

“No. She’ll feel violated and just have trouble later with being direct when she needs to be. She is almost able to ask for help of her own volition, and I want her to learn that she, herself, can be her own advocate.” 

“So we’re playing the waiting game, then.” Ren huffed. “Do you know when she’ll ask us?”

“Sometime within the next few weeks.” Wakaba smiled. “Focus on your exams and your recent victory in the meanwhile. Take a breath before you go rushing onward.”

“I’m sorry,” Yusuke interrupted, “can you tell me what she’s saying?”

Ren nodded and repeated back the conversation. Morgana hummed thoughtfully and shook his head. “That makes sense. Maybe in the meanwhile we can work on telling the rest of the team.”

The boy blanched, and his pulse quickened. “Umm...”

Wakaba shook her head. “I’d actually prefer if you wait until Futaba’s Palace is completed, if you intend to tell them about her and I. You three knowing about all of this is more than I had anticipated, and I don’t want Futaba to feel overwhelmed by how many people know.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “She’s quite embarrassed over it. I don’t want to stress her out more than she already is, and I know you’re certainly not shedding any tears over waiting a little longer to tell your friends what you can do.”

Ren blinked. “Wait. What do you mean by that?” His eyes widened. “She even knows that we know that she—“

Wakaba waved a hand. “Don’t worry, when the time is right, I will help you by giving irrefutable proof to the rest of the team that your gift is real.” She smiled. “Goodbye for now.”

“Wai—“ Ren stopped and growled to himself as she disappeared again. He groaned. “God damn it, not again.”

Morgana cleared his throat. Without looking up, Ren groaned and explained all that had transpired. The cat winced. “So Futaba knows that at least three of us— if she believes I can really talk, that is— know that she has a Palace. Maybe Wakaba is watching her and sees she’s not up to it yet.”

“Is this really the best course of action?” Yusuke agreed with a frown. “Keeping this even longer from the others and letting Futaba languish?”

“... It might be.” Morgana admitted glumly. “A Palace is changed dramatically by the cognition of its owner. If Futaba-chan wants help but isn’t ready yet, we may not even achieve access. Her mental state is fragile, and may be complicated by the fact we already know.” He sighed heavily, his ears drooping. “Sad though it may be... this isn’t like when we change a criminal’s heart. This is a Palace born of trauma and pain, and we could do more harm than good by barging in uninvited.”

The leader nodded and crossed his arms. “I think we should go along with Wakaba’s instruction for now. If Futaba doesn’t speak up like she thinks she will soon, we’ll figure something out.” He sighed and leaned forward, clasping his hands together. “What bothers me was that last part. What did she mean by giving the rest of the team irrefutable proof...? And what about my say in this?” He let out huff. “Even so, I think I should wait. I don’t want to give them a partial truth about me— I don’t want them to know I can see ghosts. I wouldn’t feel right telling them that but omitting the details about Wakaba and Futaba. I’ll explain to Makoto’s father; he should understand. He and his daughter can have a heart to heart later.”

“So be it, but the others need to know eventually.” Yusuke huffed. Ren flinched, but met the artist’s resolved eyes. “I will keep your secret for now, but when Wakaba shows this proof she speaks of... it will be time.” He smiled. “But I will be there to help you. I promise.”

“And so will I.” Morgana agreed. Ren looked away and was silent for several long moments. Finally, he swallowed hard, and picked his head up. He nodded slowly.

“Okay.” he croaked out. “Then that’s what we’ll do.”

“Good,” Yusuke said with a smile, “now, let’s go enjoy curry for breakfast and then head to the atelier to check the spot my mother told us.”

Ren laughed softly and smiled. “Let’s do it.”

* * *

The girl crouched like a gargoyle on her throne in the dark. Light from her computer screens illuminated her round, bespectacled face. Her lips twitched as she listened to the conversation, again and again. Sticky notes written in brief, shorthand code littered the edges of the screen. 

For a long time, she let it run on repeat. All she could sense was the sound of her prime target of spying; the smell of piled trash and body odor in her stuffy room had long since stopped registering. Sometimes, all she would do was listen to the recorded conversations on repeat— it somehow helped keep the hallucinations away, at least for the time being. 

She glanced again at her browser screen, cluttered with countless open tabs on whatever she could find about ghosts, mediums, clairvoyance, and secret government documents on the Metaverse. 

The recording from that morning ran again, and she dutifully jotted down more short notes that were indecipherable to anyone but her. As she pulled them off her pad and stuck them to the side of her computer tower, she sighed softly.  Tears welled in her eyes. “Please... let this be really real. I’m so close...” She hunched over further and sniffled. “Mom... if you’re really there... thank you. Please don’t hate me for taking so long... I never meant to be a pain.”

Wakaba sighed, unheard, as she stood in the darkness of the room. “I never hated you, my love bug. Hang in there, Futaba-chan. We’ll get you free soon... very soon.”


	11. Almost Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rushed chapter. Not a lot going on here; story progression.

Though the lock took some fiddling, Ren was able to pick his way into the atelier. Morgana rode on his shoulder and Yusuke followed closely behind as they entered the eerily quiet building. Yusuke shivered subtly as they entered, drawing a look from Ren, though the other boy waved him off. They made their way to Yusuke’s old room, stripped bare by the police in their investigation. The only signs of previous human habitation were paint splatters on the floor.

“I hope they didn’t notice the spot your mother was referring to.” Ren muttered. Yusuke hummed to himself.

“This is where you first saw my mother, correct?”

“Right.” Ren shook his head. “I remember the looks you all were giving me... and how hard I was trying to ignore her.” He laughed dryly. “At one point, your mom actually started trying to slap me. But because she was a ghost, it just felt like I was getting struck by gusts of wind.”

“That would explain the sudden draft we felt.” Yusuke huffed. He looked about the room. “Where is the place my mother described?”

“Follow me.”

Ren approached the back corner, which had previously been firmly blocked off due to cabinets being set over it. He crouched down and inspected the floorboards, pushing his hand down on them as they squeaked and groaned. Morgana joined him, feeling for the loose board. The cat stopped short.

“I feel a loose board.” he said. “Ren, try moving the board my paw is on.”

Ren nodded and reached for the board. It creaked under his touch, and dust cling to his fingers as he slowly began prying it up.True to Masumi’s word, there was a pile of very dusty paper notes, still intact. Yusuke gasped softly as Ren extracted the money and held it up. He sneezed (away from the bills) and proffered it.

“Dusty, but it was here.”

“My word.” Yusuke breathed. He took the bills and coughed as dust was kicked up, but his eyes widened as he examined the money. Tears welled in his eyes. “Mother left me quite a bit. Ren, I owe you my thanks... as well as my mother. Your gift is truly something to behold.” He sighed and beamed. “It is fortunate that Madarame did not find it.”

There was a long pause, and Yusuke’s eyes grew somber. Ren frowned. “Yusuke?”

“Pardon me.” Yusuke said with a sigh. “I was just wondering... you know that a senior pupil of Madarame’s committed suicide, yes? Did you happen to see...?” Ren shook his head. Yusuke sighed and scratched his chin. “Hm. Well... his room was locked off after his death. There were rumors for years that his room was haunted. Shall we take a look?”

Ren nodded and allowed Yusuke to guide him through the haphazard halls to a door that was ajar.

“Huh.” Yusuke remarked. “The police must have opened it during their investigation. After you.”

Ren pushes the dusty door open. It creaked loudly at his touch, and he squinted as he entered a dim, empty room. No one was in sight. 

“I don’t see anyone.” he said. “Maybe if he was here, he moved on after Madarame’s confession.”

“Let us hope.” Yusuke murmured. He smiled gratefully at Ren. “I appreciate all you have done, for both my mother and I. Before we go, do you mind if I see my old room one last time?”

“Not at all.” Ren reassured. “Lead the way.”

* * *

They had ended up running into an old associate of Madarame’s while Yusuke took in the room— the man who had, incidentally, been criticizing Yusuke’s work at the last show he had presented at. He had asked Yusuke to meet with him later, and while Ren promised to go with him, his mind remained elsewhere.

While the anxiety over what was to come plagued him at all times, the next few weeks went smoothly, though with no sign of Futaba or her mother. Yusuke kept his word and refrained from discussing Ren’s secret from the team. They focused on Mementos missions in the meanwhile, studying, and plans for a post-Palace celebration. A fireworks show was the plan.

In the meanwhile, Ren did a lot of thinking during the peace and quiet. He wondered why he felt so afraid and stressed by what was coming— they knew he was doing something supernatural, and he knew it. With all they had seen and said, Ren even doubted they’d be upset or disbelieving. Yet still he felt scared, and he couldn’t place why. Whatever the case, he knew he had no choice.

Yusuke and Morgana agreed with his assessment that they’d probably be fine with him, but they had no helpful advice that made him calm down. Yusuke merely said to think of it like swiftly tearing off a bandage when the time came, while Morgana echoed the sentiment. Better to get it over with.

Even with everything buzzing in his mind, things remained laidback, but peace and quiet came to an abrupt end a few days before exams. Ren’s phone had buzzed during class, and he initially assumed it was one of the others— only to stop short at the contents.

The contact was “Alibaba”, pictured only by a cartoon cat head with shark teeth and no eyes. 

_**Alibaba:** It’s time, Phantom Thief. _

_**Alibaba:** There’s a heart I need you to change.  _

Ren bit his lip. His heart already began to race, but at the same time, he felt quietly proud of Futaba for finally speaking; he knew Wakaba must have been ecstatic at that moment. He showed the phone to Morgana, who scarcely bit back a gasp. Ren stared at the screen for a minute before swallowing hard and responding.

_**Ren:** Who is this? _

_**Alibaba:** You know who it is. Tell your team your gift led you to your next target.  _

_**Alibaba:** I was going to blackmail you but given the circumstances I’ll be nice and assume you’ll do the job. The target must be freed. _

_**Ren:** We will start the mission as soon as exams are over in a week. _

_**Alibaba:** Fine. _

_**Alibaba:** I’ll be watching. _

* * *

The team stared incredulously (sans Yusuke and Morgana) at the text messages on the screen of Ren’s phone as he held it out. 

“Let me see if I have this straight,” Ryuji spoke first, “this time, the target is comin’ to us? You even have her name and everythin’! And she knows you know! And knows who WE are?! The hell?!”

“Futaba-chan has been spying on Ren for quite some time now.” Morgana elaborated. “I know it’s a shock, but apparently Boss has a daughter he adopted who has been spying on us. She needs our help.”

“You explained about that.” Makoto interjected with a frown. “All in very specific detail.” She turned to Ren. “Whatever this is— this is perhaps the most blatant example of your foresight. At this point, you’re being ridiculous by not telling us.”

“Yeah,” Ann agreed, hands behind her back, “you usually try to be subtle about it.” She frowned with frustration too. “What’s going on, Ren?”

Ryuji sighed heavily and nodded, his own gaze hardening at Ren as the boy took a step back. “Sorry, Ren, but this is— don’t you think we should know about what exactly the eff is going on if we’re starting a whole damn Palace run because of this?” He turned to a silent Yusuke, who was looking down quietly, his hands gripping the handrail. “Don’t you agree, Yusuke?”

Yusuke didn’t respond immediately. Ann paused and looked at Morgana, who was similarly silent and looking away as he perched on the railing. “Morgana...?”

Morgana looked up and sighed heavily. “While it pains me... Ren ran into Yusuke and I earlier. He said he didn’t want anything adverse to change Futaba-chan’s cognition... and I think he’s right. It could have unforeseen effects on the Palace if we mess with current circumstances too much.”

“I have an idea,” Yusuke said, looking up at Ren as he cut off the others before they could protest, “we will go along with this. This time, and this time alone. But at the end of the Palace, you owe everyone the whole truth.”

The others remained silent as Ren looked down, seeming to mill over it. He winced. “I... I know. The thing is... that’s already going to happen. My... thing. You know.” He looked up at the others. He took a deep, pained breath. “I promise that you all will find out what’s going on at the end of the Palace.” he said firmly. The boy sighed glumly. “Whether I like it or not...”

A long silence fell over the group. All stared at him, stunned. Looks were shared, and a silent conversation took place between them. Finally, the three turned to Ren and nodded in unison. “Deal.” Ryuji said, sounding very resigned. Makoto sighed heavily and stared seriously at him.

“We’re holding you to this, Ren.” she warned. Ann nodded.

“Yeah,” she agreed, “when this is done... you’ll tell us everything.”

“I know.” Ren smiled softly. “Thank you for trusting me. I promise none of you will regret it.” 

“I know we won’t.” Ryuji shook his head. “I’m not happy about this, but I trust you, Ren. You’ve never let us down and I know you’re not going to let us down this time, either.”

Ren smiled coyly. “Thank you, Ryuji. That means a lot to me.”

Ryuji just nodded and patted his arm. “You’re my best friend, and we all trust you. Remember that.” He rolled his shoulder. “So why don’t we hop in the Palace today and get a headstart?”

“After exams, Ryuji.” Makoto scolded. The boy wilted as she gave him a stern look. “You need to study. Everyone needs to study, and Futaba-chan is aware of the delay.”

Ann groaned and put a hand to her face. “Exams... this is going to suck.” She exhaled and pulled her hand away. “Let’s look forward to the fireworks festival.”

“Yes.” Ren affirmed. “We’ll start the Palace the following day. But, uh...” He smiled sheepishly. “There’s... one problem.”

The others all gave him baffled looks as he sighed. “... I don’t know the distortion for her Palace. All I have so far is the name and location.”

“Oh, come on!” Ryuji griped and groaned. “You know all of that other stuff, but your psychic power left out that?!”

“I’m not psychic...” Ren protested, reddening. “I’ll need some help with this.”

Ann stuck her tongue out at Ryuji. “Ha! I told you he wasn’t psychic! You owe me 100¥!”

Ryuji grumbled and began fishing a coin from his pocket, which he begrudgingly handed over to a very smug Ann. Makoto just threw a palm to her face and sighed. Ren raised an eyebrow. “You’re... betting?”

Ann nodded. “We’re just curious how close we’re getting. Even Yusuke put down a bet!”

Ren and Morgana simultaneously side-eyed Yusuke, who just coughed innocently and didn’t meet their eyes. The leader shook his head. “Oh, for the love of... you know what, we’ll talk about that later. Let’s get to work on the distortion of Futaba Sakura’s Palace.”


	12. Medjed

Exams went smoothly as always for Ren, who used studying as his excuse to not think about the coming Palace. He had even tutored Ryuji and Ann with Makoto’s help, and hoped his efforts would bring up their scores a bit. Extra time was spent with Ryuji, who he firmly insisted wasn’t stupid— he just struggled with the traditional learning format.

Still, it seemed his friends hadn’t forgotten his promise. As Ryuji prepared to leave their last study session before exams, he gave Ren a sad, pitying look. He wondered if his anxiety was showing when Ryuji spoke.

“Hey. Um... dude. Ren. You know that you can tell me anything, right?”

He stared at him for a moment with a carefully neutral mask before nodding in silence. Ryuji sighed.

“I mean it, man. Well... talk to you later.”

Exams came and went, and they made their way to the fireworks festival. Ren could barely see the sparks of color in the sky as he peered up, and soon, rain came pouring down, ruining the whole evening. He went home soaked and chilled to the bone.

Home wasn’t any better. Sojiro was arguing with Sae Niijima, to the side of which was her father, looking weary. The man’s eyes trailed over to Ren, and he winced.

“Geez, kid, what happened to you?”

Wakaba appeared, making Ren flinch. She frowned and clicked her tongue.

“Poor thing! I’d get you a towel if I could; you need to towel off or you’ll catch cold!”

“—Do you want to take this to family court? We have a 99% success rate.”

Ren snapped his head up to see Sae staring Sojiro, who glared bitterly. His fists clenched on the tabletop.

“Fine,” he finally spat with all the bitterness in the world, “but I can’t promise you’ll find anything worthwhile.”

Sae smiled smugly. “Thank you for your cooperation. I’ll be back.”

With that, she headed out, edging around Ren. Sojiro glared after her while her father stayed behind and winced painfully.

“I’m sorry about that,” the ghost apologized, “I was hoping to have a word with you about that.”

“—What are you looking at this time, kid?” his guardian snapped irritably. Ren jumped and looked up fearfully at Sojiro, whose glare of annoyance was rapidly fading in favor of concern. “Oh, jeez, kid, you’re soaked! Stay there; I’m going to get a towel.” 

With that, he headed upstairs to fetch Ren’s bath towel. Morgana hopped out of the bag and shook off against Ren’s ankles, though he was largely spared the storm from inside the bag. “What a bust.” Morgana griped. “Then there’s what Makoto’s sister was saying... what is she up to?”

Ren looked up as Sojiro came back down, towel in hand. He tossed it to his ward. “Take your shoes off and pat yourself down so you’re not dripping all over the place, then go upstairs and change into dry clothes. Don’t need you catching cold.”

“‘Kay.” Ren muttered, doing as he was ordered. As he patted himself down, he internally wondered if he should ask Boss about what had just happened, or about Futaba, but Boss beat him to the punch... sort of.

“What that woman wanted is none of your business,” Sojiro warned sternly, “and your business is none of hers. If she tries to talk to you and get information, you know nothing. Got it?”

“Got it.” Ren affirmed quietly. Sojiro nodded toward the stairs.

“Good. Go on; go grab your stuff and clean yourself up in the bathroom.” He sighed heavily and shook his head. Sojiro glanced toward the door, then the coffee maker. He grumbled. “When you’re done, come downstairs and have some tea. Can’t have you getting sick in a restaurant.”

* * *

After ingesting the tea Sojiro demanded he drink, he felt warm and sleepy as he headed upstairs while his guardian closed up for the night.

“Don’t mind him,” Wakaba whispered, “he acts gruff, but he likes you. The old mule would have just closed up and left if he didn’t.”

Ren shrugged as he made his way to his bed. He stared down at it, briefly thinking about flopping into it before sighing and turning to the two ghosts who had followed him upstairs. Makoto’s father looked exhausted as he heaved a sigh.

“I’m sorry again for my elder daughter’s behavior. I know I disappeared for the last few weeks, but she’s been needing a watchful eye more than Makoto these days.” He glanced at Wakaba, then Ren. “So if I heard right, you’re coming out to your friends after Futaba’s Palace is cleared?”

“That’s the plan.” Ren said calmly. Morgana’s head snapped up in the direction he was facing and nodded.

“I can’t hear you, but I’m guessing this is about Futaba. We will change her heart— with her consent— and then we’ll have a talk with the team. Everything will be fine.”

“Right.” Makoto’s father’s eyes widened with hope. “Say, uh... could you help me out and let me talk to Makoto one on one after that’s done with? I miss talking to my girls, and...” He smiled. “I want her to know how proud I am of her.” His smile faded, and he sighed heavily as he looked down. “But her sister... I believe Sae has a Palace. She’s lost her way, so I’ll be spending most of my time trying to use some power of suggestion to steer her away from bad choices.”

Ren’s eyes widened. He took out his phone and opened the Nav. “Sae Niijima.” he said.

Results found, the app replied. Morgana sighed to himself. “So that’s what’s going on... Makoto’s sister has a Palace, huh?” 

Her father couldn’t bring himself to respond for a moment before sucking in a breath and shaking his head. “I knew it...”

“Don’t worry,” Wakaba reassured, patting his arm, “if she has a Palace, it can be fixed like any other. Perhaps after all of this...”

“I’ll have a word with Makoto about it.” Ren promised. Morgana’s tail flicked back and forth.

“We could probably do her Palace next after we’re done with Futaba. It would kept keep her off our heels, too.”

“That would be nice, but take this one step at a time— and with Makoto’s blessing.” Niijima-san ordered. He shrugged. “In any case, I’m going to go keep an eye on Sae. I’ll be back after the conclusion of the next Palace, but for now...” He smiled weakly. “Makoto is fine without me. I couldn’t be prouder.”

Ren smiled. “That she is.” He paused. “Um... before you go... what’s your name,Niijima-san?”

“What? Oh.” He smiled. “You can call me Genkei. Genkei Niijima.”

* * *

While the fireworks festival had been a bust, Yusuke had declared to the team that they had sold the golden briefcase from the last heist— and it had sold for a pretty penny. The suggestion of getting sushi to pawn the dirty money was thrown around, albeit with mild concern from Ren about the Palace at hand— when Futaba quickly made herself known.

_**Alibaba:** Bring me sushi and I’ll forgive the delay. _

Ren readily agreed. All was well until they were heading back through the train station, sushi in hand, when a familiar detective’s voice came.

“Ah, it’s you.”

The group came to a halt as a smug-looking Akechi came up, sizing up the group. Ren tensed as he remarked what an interesting group it was, with several former victims of the targets of the Phantom Thieves. He had called Yusuke by name and demurred with “don’t underestimate a detective” when questions how he knew. 

Ren had a feeling he had a strong suspicion who they were, not unlike Makoto, but he maintained noncommittal answers and cold responses.

“By the way, did you hear?” the detective said with a smile Ren found unsettling. “Medjed declared war on the Phantom Thieves.”

Medjed... Ren had almost forgotten the name in the hustle and bustle of the last few days, and he grimaced at the mention.

“What?” Makoto questioned, wide-eyed. Akechi held out his phone.

“See for yourself.” 

Ren winced at the screen— it was in English, whatever Medjed was ranting about. His English was passable enough to read it, but he needed a few more moments to read the text carefully to surmise what was being said. 

Thankfully, Ryuji had enough far before he did. “Oh, crap, English.” he whined as he turned to Ann. “Can you read it?”

Ann rolled her eyes and took the phone. Quickly, her eyes widened with horror. “Wait, what?! Medjed... they’re threatening to release information that would destroy Japan’s economy if the Phantom Thieves don’t surrender their identities?!”

The group blanched, while Akechi only seemed more smug than ever. “Why does that upset you so much, Takamaki-san?”

Ann flinched and shoved his phone back into his hands. “Oh! Umm...”

“—She’s a huge fan of the Phantom Thieves!” Ryuji cut in with a nervous smile. “Crazy about ‘em.”

Akechi raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Is that wise? We know so little about them... or so it seems.” He turned his smile back to Ren and took a step forward toward him, but Ren didn’t flinch back. “You have such an interesting group. I’ll have to keep my eye on you.”

Ren scoffed and waved a hand. “So be it, Detective, but I don’t think you’ll find anything worthwhile.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” Akechi winked. “Well, I must be going. Farewell for now.”

With that, he walked off. In the direction he went, Ren spied a tired-looking woman with brown hair like his and looked an awful lot like him staring quietly at the boy. She seemed to recognize him, but unlike most of the public, did not react with enthusiasm or even disdain. If anything, she seemed... disappointed and exhausted. 

The woman caught Ren’s eyes and stared quietly at him before sighing heavily and trailing after Akechi, who was apparently oblivious to her presence.

Ren snapped back into reality as his phone buzzed. He plucked it from his pocket and saw a new message.

_**Alibaba:** I can handle Medjed for you if you change the target’s heart. _

_**Alibaba:** Now hurry up and bring that sushi to me. _

“Futaba again...” he heard Morgana mutter from his shoulder. Ren nodded and held his phone out to the group.

“Good news. Someone who can help was listening...”

The group’s eyes widened as they read the text. “For real?” Ryuji gasped. 

“What does Futaba-chan intend to do to them?” Yusuke questioned incredulously. The phone buzzed as another text popped up.

_**Alibaba:** You’ll see. _

_**Alibaba:** sushi now _

_**Alibaba:** pls _

“... Let’s just have some faith in her for now.” Makoto murmured, unsettled. “I don’t know how I feel about her spying like this...”

* * *

They found themselves post-meal under a twilight sky that was darkening quickly with rain clouds. Ren held a bag with a box of sushi inside as he hesitantly pressed the doorbell. No one came or answered, not even Sojiro.

“The gate’s unlocked...” Ryuji muttered as he pulled it open. “Maybe we can sneak in and drop it off?”

“Perhaps we could get more information on her distortion, too.” Yusuke agreed. Makoto hummed nervously and glanced up at the sky.

“I don’t know... I don’t feel right just barging into Boss’s house.”

The sky rumbled. Ren felt a drop of rain hit his head, forewarning the downpour to come. He took a deep breath and pushed the gate open; it creaked as he made his way to the front door, which cracked open at his touch.

“It’s unlocked.” he pointed out. Ann whined as she moved under the awning. 

“Let’s go inside... maybe Boss left the door open by accident.” she suggested.  Makoto let out a small keening noise, but everyone followed Ren in with no further debate. 

The inside of the house was almost pitch black, save for a light on further down a hallway, flickering and switching in color like that of a television. 

“Maybe Boss fell asleep with the TV on.” Morgana suggested. Ren shrugged and glanced about.

“I’m tempted to use the third eye to look for a path, but I’m worried Boss will show up and see my eyes glowing or something. Can’t have that.”

The group froze as they heard small footsteps padding against the floor somewhere in the house. Ren cautiously followed the sound, until he reached a pitch black stairway. He cautiously activated his Third Eye and spied a silhouette of a short girl with glasses frozen in fear at the sight of him. She gasped softly as he stopped focusing with the third eye and cautiously put the bag of sushi down on a step. He held his hands up as he took a few steps back. 

After a moment’s hesitation, rapid footsteps came, and the rustling of a plastic bag was heard as she seized it. She stopped to stare at him, and he at her, as the faint light from the windows vaguely illuminated the both of them.

“Who’s there?! Don’t move!”

The Phantom Thieves yelped and the girl— Futaba, he guessed— shrieked as the light of a flashlight came on and shone on everyone. Makoto shrieked and clung to Ren’s arm as the boy turned to see a flabbergasted Sojiro staring at them. The sound of rapidly retreating footsteps from the stairs came and went as the man gasped.

“Futaba? And all of you? What are you all—“

“—The door was unlocked.” Yusuke explained. Ann sighed and looked away.

“We’re sorry for barging in; Futaba-chan asked us for sushi and we were worried about you because the light from the TV was on and the door was unlocked.”

Sojiro blinked. His eyes were wide as he gawked at the group. “I’m sorry,” he sputtered, “what was that first part?”

“The door was unlocked?” Yusuke questioned. Sojiro scowled and shook his head.

“No, the other part.”

“Futaba-chan asked us for sushi?” Ann squeaked. Sojiro nodded.

“How do you know who she is?! And what do you mean, she—“ He took a quick breath and exhaled sharply. “You know what, let’s— we’re moving this to Leblanc. We need to talk.”

* * *

Leblanc was, at the very least, warm and dry, but everyone felt small, as if under a microscope as Sojiro stared all of them down with a hard gaze. None of them made a sound as the man continued to stare, hard, as he thought. 

Finally, he let out an exhausted sigh and focused on Ren, who flinched. “Can you explain to me what exactly was going on, and how you knew about Futaba?”

The others’ eyes turned to Ren. He briefly caught Wakaba out of the corner of his eyes before he bowed his head. “Futaba-chan... contacted me by text about a week ago.” he explained sheepishly. “She keeps coming in and out of my texts sporadically, but... she seems curious about us is all. I don’t know how she did it, but we were talking about getting sushi today... and she texted me to ask for some, too.” 

He shrugged as he looked back up at a dumbstruck Sojiro. “So I... we were bringing her the sushi she asked for. She stared at me for a good few seconds after taking the sushi, too.” He huffed. “I don’t... exactly know what’s going on with her, but... she asked nicely, and she seems troubled, so...”

Sojiro was silent for several long moments before exhaling sharply. “Okay.” he finally muttered. “I suppose since you all know... I’ll give you an explanation.”

He proceeded to recount Futaba’s hard luck story Ren was more than aware of— Wakaba’s suicide, primarily, but hearing the abuse of her other family members was new. He winced at the knowledge.

“They treated her like a dog,” Wakaba spat bitterly, “no, worse, because dogs don’t deserve to be treated like she was. I’ll never forgive my brother or any of my other relatives for how they treated her.”

“So she’s holed herself up ever since, huh?” Ryuji asked softly. Sojiro mournfully nodded, looking guilty.

“She wouldn’t even come out for the doctors... and after awhile, she started reporting hallucinations. Stuff like ‘Mom is staring at me...’”

“Those really were hallucinations,” Wakaba clarified, “I would never treat her so coldly.”

“So...” Sojiro put a hand on his chin as he gave Ren an inscrutable stare. “She’s... very good with technology. Probably wasn’t hard for her to get your number.” He sighed hopefully. “I’m hoping that her contacting you— a stranger— is a good sign. She talks to almost no one. If she contacts you again, be nice to her and let me know. Okay?”

“Okay.” Ren murmured. Sojiro sighed and rooted through his pocket for his wallet.

“How much did her sushi cost? I’ll reimburse you.”

“No need.” Ren dismissed with a shake of the head. “I’ve been working at a flower shop for the last few months; I didn’t mind kicking in. You let me stay here, so... it’s the least I can do.”

Sojiro stared, slack-jawed, as Ren anxiously stared back. The man blinked a few times and cleared his throat. “I... see.” He sighed and smiled tiredly. “You’re a good kid. Keep being a good influence on her if she comes calling, okay?”

“I will.”

With that, Sojiro left. Ren collapsed into a booth seat and let out a long, exhausted sigh. He cracked his eyes open as his team surrounded him with stares he couldn’t comprehend.

“How much of that was the truth and how much was a lie?” Ann questioned, crossing her arms. Ren scowled and exhaled with annoyance sharply.

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

“Still...” Ryuji frowned sadly and wiped his eyes. “Poor Futaba... no wonder she’s got a Palace. We’ve gotta save her.”

“Let’s reconvene tomorrow,” Makoto said quietly, a hand on her head, “and we’ll work on figuring out the rest of the key words so we can access her Palace.”

Nods were shared, and finally, the group quietly disbanded for the night. Yusuke stopped to share a reassuring look and a nod with Ren, who silently nodded back. As he left, Morgana nudged Ren’s arm.

“Let’s go to bed.” he murmured. Ren stood up, Morgana hanging onto his shoulder. The boy stopped to look at a silent Wakaba, whose hands were clasped together. She stared expectantly at him.

“Save her, Phantom Thief.” 

With that, she disappeared for the night. Wearily, Ren scratched his head and headed up. Soon, he was lying down, and Morgana was curled up at his side.

“We’ll save her,” Morgana whispered, “we have to. For her sake as well as ours.”


	13. Be Brave

Ren quickly decided that he did not like Futaba’s Palace.

They had gotten the distortion after once again sneaking into Boss’s house. Ryuji impulsively pressed the app, too late to heed Morgana’s warning to not activate it. 

The team had nearly burned their feet upon being dropped in a bleak, scorching desert, and the drive to the pyramid of the Palace itself was even worse. It was only when they finally reached the pyramid that he thought he could have asked Yusuke to cool down the van, or he himself summon an ice Persona. He and Ryuji spent a good minute cursing once he broached the subject. 

The pyramid was impressive, climbing to the sky; it felt as though he was taking a trip to a foreign land. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched by a spiteful eye, and the discomfort wouldn’t leave him. The only solace he had was that the interior of the Palace was air-conditioned.

Part of him wanted to stop and look at everything— the glistening, glowing green glyphs along the walls, the sheer scale of the main stairway up the pyramid, the lights of candles along the walls— but he knew that delaying would just leave Futaba hurting for even longer. Thus he led the team up the stairs, to the peak, noting how their excited voices echoed through the hall. His gut lurched as he knew they were soon to reach the top.

They were stopped by Futaba’s Shadow partway up. The Shadow was clad in what Futaba imagined to be an Egyptian pharaoh’s attire, light and flowy. A golden crown was upon her head, inlaid with gems and sporting a golden cobra head stretching up on the center. She stared at them blankly as Ryuji and Ann asked where the Treasure was. 

Ren stiffened as the Shadow turned her gaze on him. 

“Why have you come, Messenger?” she questioned bluntly.

Ryuji blinked at him. “‘Messenger’...?”

The leader just cleared his throat. “Later, Ryuji.” He turned back to the Shadow. “We are here because your real self requested that we take her heart.”

Shadow Futaba shook her head, unblinking and her expression unchanging. “My mother will not heed your words, Messenger. You should know that by now.” She turned to the rest of the team. “If you think you can take the treasure, then try as you might.”

“That sounded awfully defiant...” Morgana muttered worriedly. 

The Shadow ignored him as she clutched her head and fell to her knees. Ren could hear shrill, angry echoes around him as she did so.

_ You’re the one that killed her! _

_Murderer!_

_ Don’t come near me! _

_ Why don’t you say something?! _

_ You’re a plague! _

“What are we hearing...?” Yusuke murmured, befuddled. Ren winced and nearly covered his ears with both hands, but kept them at his sides. He knew if it was bad to him, it was torture to her.

_ I’ll never forgive my brother or any of my other relatives for how they treated her. _

The memory of Wakaba’s bitterness the previous night echoed through his mind. Ren grit his teeth. “Futaba-chan, your family was wrong! Your mother’s death wasn’t your fault!”

The voices ceased, for a moment. Futaba’s Shadow peered up at him with that same poker face as everyone stared at him. 

“... You silence the memories this time, Messenger, but it won’t last.” she warned. “Mother’s cries bring it all back, no matter how hard you try to banish doubt.”

They all heard a shrill, muffled shriek reverberate through the hall. The entire pyramid shook and tumbled as the team yelped and looked around, wide eyed and anxious. Shadow Futaba moaned.

“... My mother exists here,” she said emotionlessly, “to remind me that I killed her.”

“But you didn’t!” Ren protested. The Shadow spread her arms out, rose into the air and vanished. 

“Your words can not penetrate the heart until Mother is gone,” he heard Shadow Futaba’s voice, “and she will never let me forget my sins. I will remain here until I die...”

As she finished speaking, blue flames enveloped Ren’s vision for a split second. He held his now red-gloved hands out and saw he was in his thieving outfit. He looked up to see the others looking about themselves. As Queen twisted her neck as she peered down at her boots and scarf, she gasped. “Our clothes...”

“She sees us as an enemy now,” Fox growled, standing defensively, hands at the ready for his katana, “what’s going on?!”

A massive boulder fell on the path above them with a loud crash. The team recoiled, wide eyed.

“Crap!” Mona cried. “RUN!”

The team booked it, racing down the stairs and praying they didn’t get crushed or trip as they sped down. Though the rumbling and crashing of the boulder echoed through the hall, the only thing Joker could hear and feel was his heart beating out of his chest. It was only thanks to supernatural agility typical of Persona users that they managed to reach the bottom and duck along the sides of the walls as the boulder crashed down into the gaping pit below. 

A wall rose and sealed off the stairway. Though his heart was still beating out of his chest, Joker shuddered and looked to his team. After a quick mental tally, he gasped in relief. “Is everyone alright?”

“We almost got crushed by a boulder!” Skull cried. “Does she want us to help her or not?!”

Queen shook her head. “It must be because she really has trouble letting others close to her.” She trained her eyes on Joker. Her intense stare made him freeze in place. “Whatever you’ve been saying to her— she sounds like she’s trying to take it to heart, but her cognition is too distorted.”

“Exactly.” Mona huffed, stretching. “Let’s retreat for today and come back tomorrow.”

“We’ll look for an alternative entry point then.” Joker added. Fox panted and nodded, arms at his sides.

“That would be wise.”

* * *

Joker decided he hated Futaba’s Palace even more than ever the first (and sadly not the only) time he got the Rattled status ailment. For some reason, the coffin shadow seemed intent on making sure the leader was a mouse for 75% of the battle. He was even stuck as one for a few moments after the end of the fight. The team’s squeeing at his cute appearance left him pouting after he turned back to a human, which the team giggled at.

Still, little moments like that made him forget about what was coming next— even when was subjected to the same fate again later in the Palace against yet another coffin shadow. He had been turned into a rodent more times than he had ever expected or wanted in his life, which was a grand total of zero. 

At least the second time, Skull got hit with the condition, too, leaving them both squeaking angrily at the shadow.

The puzzle murals broke his and the rest of the team’s hearts; he had known most of the story from Wakaba, but seeing it depicted (even in such a manner) hurt even more. The men in the black suits reading the letter and blaming her made his blood boil. Worse was that he knew her family ate it up and stood around screaming at a then-thirteen-year-old girl.

Futaba’s repeated desires to die hurt all of them. Panther in particular seemed distressed as she looked down guiltily during the mural decipherments. In the safe rooms, she would allow herself to cry a little. Joker offered a hug as she did so and reflected on the murals while she cried in his arms— no matter how much he dreaded what was ahead, he was determined to get through the Palace as quickly as possible for Futaba’s sake.

Within a few days of work, the finish line was in sight— all that was left was a cognitively locked door they would have to have Futaba open in the real world. It was at that point that Joker had the reality of what it meant strike him. The next day— the day they sent the calling card— was time. He breathed a little more sharply and hopes the others didn’t notice, but he saw the side eyes he was getting. Queen suggested going to the safe room to rest a moment before leaving, to heal and clean wounds so nothing showed in the real world.

They had approached the door when Shadow Futaba appeared in front of the door. Queen jumped back and screeched at the sudden appearance, clinging to Joker’s leg again while the others yelped and recoiled. Skull gasped and clutched his chest.

“Why did you disappear if you were just gonna do that?! You almost gave me a heart attack!”

“Welcome to my life.” Joker muttered under his breath. He patted the shaking Queen. “It’s alright, Queen; you’re okay.”

Queen flushed and stood up, pulling away from Joker. “R— Right. Sorry...” Still blushing, she turned to the unaffected Shadow and cleared her throat. “What is it, Futaba-chan?”

“I want to talk to your leader. Alone.” she demanded. The team shared looks, and Panther frowned.

“I don’t feel safe leaving Joker out here alone...”

“Fine.” the Shadow said bluntly. “He can pick two of you to stay with him.”

Skull raised a hand “I’ll—“

“Fox and Mona.” Joker ordered. Skull pouted. 

“I woulda been willing... fine.”

With reluctant backwards glances, the others headed into the safe room. Once the door was closed, Shadow Futaba nodded.

“Come with me.”

Fox frowned. “Are we sure that is wise? You have led us into several traps thus far.”

“I will not try to ensnare you this time.” she dismissed. “I want to talk about him.”

Mona hummed nervously and crossed his arms. “I don’t know if we can trust her... what’s your decision, Joker?”

Joker tucked his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “I’ll follow.”

“Come,” the Shadow urged, “up, by the summit door. They won’t hear us there.”

They followed her (and mercifully did not get led into yet another trap). Shadow Futaba turned and locked her eyes on Joker. “You wish to change her heart, even given what will transpire?”

Joker nodded, once. “Yes.”

“There will be no going back.” 

“I know.”

“How do you trust your team so much?” she questioned bluntly, her stare intense and probing. Joker looked to Mona on his right and Fox on his left. Both nodded at him, and with a deep breath, he turned back to her. 

“It wasn’t something I came to overnight. It was awkward and uncomfortable and sometimes resulted in tears to get to this point.” He smiled weakly. “But... I know it will all be okay. They would lay down their lives for me, and I would do the same for them.”

“And he has us at his side.” Mona piped up. Fox nodded and smiled proudly.

“Indeed. At last, they will see what a beautiful gift he bears.”

“I don’t understand.” Shadow Futaba said bluntly. “I can sense the fear rolling off of him; it is almost palpable, to the point your companions notice. I ask how and why you confront this though you do not want to do so.”

Joker shrugged. “Sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to.” He crossed his arms. “Listen. I’m scared shitless, but I know deep down that they will be okay with it. I have to have faith in them. They’ve proven themselves time and time again.”

“How can you believe in them if you are still afraid?”

Mona hopped up and put his paws on his sides as he looked up. “Does the real Futaba believe he can speak to the dead?”

“Yes.” said Shadow Futaba. 

“So she believes what he said that her mom said. Not her cognitive mom, her real mom.” Mona reasoned. Shadow Futaba went silent. The cat sighed and put his arms down. “You see? Cognition can block what you know logically to be true—he’s going through that, Fox went through that, and now you. Dissonance results, along with all the related emotions—but it can be faced and rectified.”

Fox nodded. “And that is why he—nay, we—must do this. He has the courage to face what’s been plaguing him.” He smiled. “And what of Futaba? She needs our help; by asking for it, she has already taken the first step to facing her fears. She needs our help just like Joker will need Mona and I’s help.”

“But even with help, we have to push ourselves.” Mona continued. “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. We can guide her; is she ready to be brave and do what she has to do in this, just like Joker is being brave, too?”

Shadow Futaba’s expression went unaltered as always. She remained silent. Finally, Joker sighed and pulled his mask off. He held the mask in one had and kept his other hand tucked in his pocket. The leader smiled softly.

“I’ll be brave if you will.” 

Shadow Futaba remained silent for a few more moments. Finally, she nodded her head, once, and disappeared once again. Joker sighed and wiped his eyes with the hand that was tucked in his pocket. “Thanks, guys.”

“It’s the least I can do, given everything you’ve done for me.” Fox said with a proud smile. “I will be there every step of the way with you, my friend.”

“And me, too,” Mona agreed, “we’re all in this together, Joker.”

The boy laughed and put his mask back on. “I guess we are, huh? Come on; let’s head home for the day. We’ve got a busy tomorrow to look forward to.”

* * *

Wakaba was nowhere to be found when he arrived back in Leblanc. He assumed she was with her daughter as he ate dinner and took a visit to the bathhouse to soothe his frayed nerves. 

When he returned to his room, however, he immediately felt his stress spike as he saw Genkei sitting on his couch. The man didn’t seem to pay his expression any heed as he smiled, waved, and stood up.

“So you’re finally coming clean, eh? Glad to hear it.” He crossed his arms. “Sae is pulling another late night chasing after the Phantom Thieves, so I should get back to her. I’ll be back the day after tomorrow for a chat with my little girl.” He cleared his throat. “I just came to ask you one thing: when you get the chance, tell her I said...” The man chuckled to himself. “It’s Buchi-cop time.”

Ren blinked. “You want me to tell her what now?”

“It’s Buchi-cop time. You heard me.” He winked. “She’ll know what it means. Well, I’ve got to go. Best of luck to you all tomorrow; fight the good fight.”

With that, he vanished. Morgana looked up at Ren. “Who was visiting, and what did they say?”

The boy repeated what was said. Morgana sat, his tail swishing and ears twitching. “He wants you to say that to Makoto?”

“Apparently. No idea why.”

Morgana hummed. “Guess we’ll find out soon.” He stood up. “Let’s go to bed; you need the rest. We have a big day tomorrow.”


	14. I Will Live

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was playing P5R and it turns out in game in the video store you can rent a show called Wraith which is basically an in-universe Ghost Whisperer show. Go figure. In this AU I think Joker would be made profoundly uncomfortable by it lmao.
> 
> This was gonna be one chapter but was split into two due to length.

Coaxing Futaba into opening her door had been a task and a half, but it was accomplished. She had hesitated even past the 10 minute warning Makoto gave her, which is when Ren decided to try something. He leaned against the door and spoke gently.

“Futaba... I know you’re scared. I know you’re embarrassed. That’s natural; I would know, because...” He took a deep breath. “... I feel the same way right now. But... we’ll be okay. We’ll both be okay and better for it. You don’t have to feel alone about this; I want you to let us help, but also reach out to save yourself.” He exhaled audibly. “... I don’t know if it’ll make you feel any better, but... I’m with you. I’ll be brave if you’ll be brave. I promise.”

The others shared looks, while Morgana’s and Yusuke’s shared look was a knowing smile. Ren’s anxiety was abundantly clear to everyone. The normally cool, unflappable leader was jittery and pale, no matter how much his friends tried to reassure him. Still, he got up and led the team to Futaba. 

“I’m not going to let my fears keep her down any longer.” he had said as they prepared the calling card. Ryuji had beamed.

“That’s our leader! Brave as always!”

“Bravery isn’t lack of fear,” Makoto had agreed, “it’s just persisting in spite of fear.”

In any case, the words Ren had supplied to Futaba’s Shadow got a reaction from the real Futaba. She breathed quietly, heavy with emotion.

“You promise?”

Ren smiled. “Yes. I promise.”

A moment after he said it, the door was pulled open. On the other side was a wide-eyed, shaking Futaba, who threw her arms out and bore herself.

“T— There!” she cried. “Now steal it! You said be brave!”

Ren felt bad for stifling a laugh as Makoto just cringed. “That’s— that’s not how this works. We’re going to steal your heart, but we don’t do it like this.” She coughed and held her hands in front of herself. “You... really just had to open the door.”

Futaba faltered. She let out a sigh as she lowered her arms. “O— Oh.” she murmured dazedly. The girl hung her head silently and stepped back; she almost closed the door on them, had Ren not thrown a hand out to catch it. 

“Wait— wait! Can you, uh... leave this door open until we’re done? Shouldn’t take us more than an hour.”

Futaba blinked at him. “Why?”

“There was a block in your cognitive world,” Makoto explained, a hand on her chin, “a door we couldn’t pass. We should be able to get past it now that you opened the door.”

Yusuke shook his head as he whispered. “Ihighly doubt she’d understand it even if we tried to explain it...”

The girl ignored him and let out a soft oh of understanding. “So the fact I saw the door as being locked was a hinderance in my cognitive world?”

Everyone blinked at her very nonchalant guess. Ann toyed with a lock of hair. “Huh? You understand that?”

Futaba looked to Ren, staring hard. It took a second for him to realize she was looking to him for reassurance, and he nodded silently. The girl nodded right back and looked downward.

“Mhmm. My mom studied...” She looked up at Ren, who nodded, once.

“Cognitive psience.”

Futaba’s eyes widened ever so slightly as she bobbed her head up and down. “Yep! Emphasis on the ‘psi’, not ‘sci’— less science, more supernatural. That’s important.”

“That’s my girl,” Ren heard Wakaba murmur fondly from behind, “so smart.”

At his flinch, Futaba gasped softly and took a step back. He held a hand up. “W— Wait, sorry, I didn’t mean to—“

“— R—Right.” Futaba squeaked. “Sorry, this just feels surreal. So...” She kept her eyes trained on Ren and cocked her head. “How do you do it?”

Ren held up his phone and pointed to the Nav. Futaba immediately snatched it and examined it curiously. The boy gently put his hand on top of his phone. “Careful, that app can be dangerous. We go into the cognitive world using that app. A target, location, and distortion. Yours was ‘tomb.’”

“Why are you telling her this?!” Ryuji hissed. Ren huffed.

“Why bother hiding it? She knows about the Metaverse, and we have a deal.”

Futaba smiled weakly. “I’ll be brave... if you’ll be brave. It feels like I’ve heard that more than one time before, but...” Her eyes practically glittered at the Nav. “That’s so cool...!” She stared at it a moment longer before sighing and relinquishing it back to Ren. Makoto frowned and tapped her chin.

“Futaba... you don’t have this app, do you?” she questioned anxiously. Futaba hesitated before replying, tucking her hands behind her back and averting her gaze.

“... I don’t.” She looked hopefully up at Ren. “... Can I come with you?”

“No.” Ren replied sternly. “It’s way too dangerous. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

Futaba grumbled but did not object as she looked away. Ryuji pressed himself up by Ren and held out the calling card. “Make sure you read this, okay?”

The girl glanced up and hesitantly took the card. She didn’t read it immediately; Ryuji just grumbled and stuck his hands in his pockets. “You hafta read it. We can’t steal your heart otherwise.”

As Futaba continued to hesitate, Yusuke cleared his throat. “Would you prefer we leave before you read it?”

“Yes.” Futaba squeaked, reddening. Morgana looked up at the team.

“I’ll make sure she reads it. You all go on ahead; I’ll catch up in a minute.”

The group began to leave. Ren was partway out the door when Futaba tugged on his sleeve. He looked down to see her wide, hopeful eyes.

“You made a promise,” she reminded him, “you’ll be brave and tell them you talk to dead people just like in that _Wraith_ show.”

Ren’s nose wrinkled. “I hate that show, but I’ll keep my word. I promise.”

The girl giggled softly and cracked a very small smile. She loosened her grip on his sleeve, and watched quietly as he left. Futaba lifted the card up and read its contents aloud. 

“Futaba Sakura has committed a great sin of drowning in sloth... Thus, we will rob every last bit of those distorted desires. From, the Phantoms...”

She shuddered and stared vacantly out of the door for a moment. It was interrupted by a meow from below, startling her as thecat darted by.

Though she couldn’t see her, Wakaba knelt down by her side and smiled softly. “It’ll be over soon, my love. Just a little longer...”

* * *

Even before Mona had said anything as he popped into the Metaverse after them, Joker could tell the card had been read. The atmosphere was tense and seemed to pulse; the whole place seemed to be shrouded in red, heart beating fear. This was typical of any Palace after sending a calling card, but this time, Joker imagined he himself would probably have a heart that looked the same right about then. He almost felt like puking.

Still, he waved them along with his trademark “it’s showtime!” He even managed to make it sound just as enthusiastic as usual, with some effort.

He led them up through the Palace and do the cognitively locked door, which slid open as they approached. They had to continue their ascent; a pain in the ass, given the strong Shadows that wanted to stop them, but eventually they made their way to a very dark chamber in the very top of the pyramid. The only source of light was green, glowing glyphs from the treasure receptacle of a coffin in the center of the room. 

Joker, for once, stood back and let the others approach the treasure. Mona was already in the process of drooling over the prospect of treasure when a horrible scream came and shook the entire pyramid. 

The leader paled at the sound— he remembered where he had heard that scream. The top of the pyramid rumbled, and several bricks collapsed from the ceiling. Light began to pour in from the hole. For a moment, all was eerily calm and quiet, as they stared up at the light illuminating the dust floating in the air. 

A very large, bloodshot, angry eye peered through the hole at the group, along with a resounding cry that was shrill as a demon from hell.

_ “FUTABAAA!” _

The group screamed and jumped as a massive arm came and shoved the roof off altogether, exposing them to the unforgiving sun. Powerful gusts of wind began pushing them back as they clung on whatever they could grasp. Even with all the dust, Joker could make out what was attacking them.

Wakaba’s head upon the body of a winged lion— a very angry Sphinx that was already intent on killing them. In an instant, it clicked, and he gave a horrified cry.

“It’s a cognition!” he bellowed to his team. 

“It’s not a Shadow?!” Skull cried as he winced and clung to a brick.

“He’s right!” Mona gasped out from where he clung desperately to the ground. “That’s... Futaba’s cognition... of her mother!”

A pillar collapsed with the wind and began sliding toward Queen. Joker launched himself in her direction, shoving her out of the way just in time as the stone pillar flew past. Queen looked up in quiet awe, but neither got a chance to say anything; both peered up in terror as the Sphinx’s flapping slowed. The beast grit her teeth at Joker.

“You horrible brat!” she screamed. “Trying to release the one who killed me! You dishonor me by approaching the Pharoah’s tomb!”

Joker scowled defiantly. “You’re done lording over her, you crazy bitch! I know you’re not the real version of her mother! Her mother never stopped loving her!”

“How DARE you?!” she shrieked; her voice sounded even more shrill and unnatural. “Pay for your blasphemy!”

* * *

Their attacks barely touched her. Bullets and magic alike barely scraped the surface of the monster, and Joker himself was seeing stars as he stood up again defiantly, clutching a bleeding arm. 

“God damn it, we ain’t doing shit to it!” Skull cried. “What do we do?!”

“We can’t give up now!” Joker cried back, still glaring at the beast. “Futaba will never be free otherwise!”

“Futaba?!”

At Queen’s gasp, Joker’s neck turned and his jaw dropped to see Futaba in her pajamas walking up to the group with her hands behind her back. She nodded.

“Mhm.” she mumbled. Mona frowned at her.

“The real person in their own Palace...”

Joker blanched and stood up straight. “Futaba, you have to go! That thing will kill you!”

“Just like she killed me!” the Sphinx howled. “She killed me and deserves to DIE!”

Joker turned to glare at the cognition. “Shut up! We both know that’s not true!” 

“M— Mom...” Futaba gasped, staring up at the monster, wide eyed and pale. Joker shook his head.

“That’s not your mom! That’s just your cognition of her! A fake!”

“Don’t listen to him!” she shrieked. “Who do you trust?! Your own mother or an insane criminal punk?!”

Joker winced a bit. He was about to say more when Futaba abruptly clutched her head and crouched to the group, shuddering violently. For a moment, his heart clutched, thinking she was going into the painful throes of Awakening.

“Futaba-chan, listen!” Panther cried. “Joker— Ren is right! There’s no way that that’s your mother!”

Queen knelt down by the shivering girl and nodded. “Your mother did her best to care for you by herself! The memories of her hating you are false, just like Ren keeps saying!”

“A false memory...?” Futaba muttered. She closed her eyes and began muttering to herself incoherently while the others watched on, baffled.

“Futaba Sakura!” Shadow Futaba’s voice came as she appeared from thin air. “Remember!”

Futaba looked up, staring, unblinking as the Shadow approached her. Everything around them seemed to silence in an instant as Futaba and the Shadow locker eyes.

“Why did you think it was suicide?” thequestioned calmly, holding her hands together. Futaba remained crouching, clutching her head.

“... Because of the note.” she muttered. Shadow Futaba nodded.

“Exactly. The men in black suits read her suicide note to you, and what was written in it?”

Futaba sniffled. “All of her complaints... about me.”

Shadow Futaba put her hands down. “Yes. The shock and the pain led you to avert your eyes. But they kept reading it aloud in front of your relatives. Think hard. Was that suicide note real? Would the mother you loved so much truly have written that? Did she ever say such horrible things to you?” 

Futaba didn’t respond for a moment. Finally, she slowly pushed herself up. Her eyes were full of determined fire, still red around the rims from crying. “She scolded me whenever I had tantrums, but she cared for me!”

“Then what about the suicide note?” Shadow Futaba questioned calmly. She and the real Futaba both turned to look upon Joker. “What did the Messenger say?”

Futaba’s eyes hardened. “That it was a total lie! She was murdered!”

“You were used!” Shadow Futaba said angrily. “They forced her suicide note and laid the blame of her death upon you!” She pointed a finger at her. “They trampled all over your young heart! Get mad! Don’t forgive them!”

Futaba looked down shamefully. “It’s because I couldn’t face myself, or Mom’s death...” She threw her hands down as she scowled. “Even then, why did they have to yell at me like that?!”

She snapped out of her trance, back into the dusty desert air. Futaba picked herself up slowly. “Ah...”

“Futaba-chan?!” Panther cried. Futaba gasped sharply and clutched the side of her head; for a moment, Joker again wondered if she was undergoing Awakening as she hunched over, holding her head. No screams of pain escaped her, and he watched in befuddlement.

“... That’s right.” Futaba murmured. “I knew, but I...”

“It’s your fault! It’s all your fault!” Cognitive Wakaba shrieked, shrill as ever. Joker wanted nothing more than to destroy the fake as Futaba stood up, wincing. 

“I won’t let those distorted lies deceive me any longer... and I won’t be led astray by other’s voices either... I’m going to trust my own eyes and my own heart to distinguish the truth from the lies.” She glared up at the Sphinx. “There’s no way you’re my mom! You’re just a fake created by those horrid people! I’ll... _I’ll never forgive them!”_

Joker felt a surge of pride for her and smiled just as her Shadow lifted into the air, arms extended. With a flourish of light,a UFO covered with green glyphs and a gargoyle on top had appeared. Broken chains and blue flames surrounded it and Futaba. 

“What is that?!” Panther cried; Joker and Skull watched, gaping, as metallic tentacles reached down and lifted the girl up, who looked startled as she was pulled inside.

“Futaba?!” Queen cried as she disappeared. 

“I’m okay!” Futaba’s voice came, sounding as though she was talking through a phone, but intelligible. 

“Look at that...!” Mona breathed in awe.

“Please, help me!” Futaba called. Her voice wasn’t sad or afraid— just angry. Beautiful, justified anger. “That’s gotta go!”

Joker smiled, bright and proud, his fears allayed for the moment in favor of justified vengeance. He turned back to the Sphinx as his team turned with him. “Your reign here is done!”

The beast circled the pyramid, eyes almost bulging with bloodshot hate. “Futaba! How could you betray your own mother like this after all you’ve done?!”

“Shut up!” she snapped. “I know you’re not my mom! My real mom has been trying to free me for years, and thanks to them, I will be free!” The UFO circled and floated behind the team. “This is my cognitive world— hacking into my cognition should be no problem!”

A ballista formed from thin air beneath the UFO. Everyone was left staring as the UFO took off. “A—A ballista?!” Mona sputtered.

Futaba’s response came as she moved the UFO back over the team “Use it to shoot it down and then beat the crap out of it! Let’s do this, guys!”

* * *

The rest of the battle was smooth sailing, as much as it could be. They still got tossed and slapped around by being struck by a giant paw and wind, but the ballista knocked her down once, twice— until finally Joker had his gun trained head-on the cognition. His eyes were full of hatred and a smugness that came with the knowledge he would win. The others stood by his side, their guns trained as well, with a similar fire in the eyes.

Though on the verge of death, the cognition glowered at the Persona that held Futaba. “Disobedient children... deserve to die!”

“No matter what you say... I will _live!”_ Futaba declared defiantly. _“Fire!”_

No sooner than did she give the word did the entire team open fire on the cognition. It gave a horrible shriek and a cry as dark blood (or the closest a cognition could get to blood) flew out of the monster, who tumbled down the side of the pyramid until it rolled to the ground and silenced. A second later, it and the blood faded with a flash of light.

Futaba’s Persona dissipated, and the girl was left crouching as she breathed laboriously. Queen scrambled to her side and knelt down.

“Futaba!” she gasped. “Are you—“

The girl stood up silently and brushed herself off, only to stop partway. She stared down at herself in her new thieving outfit, which was sleek, black and neon green in a sci-fi-esque jumpsuit, lines running along the sides of her outfit. In particular, Joker noticed her mask— a pair of thick goggles that somewhat reminded him of an alien. The sight filled his heart with excitement and pride.

“Whoa, what in the world?” She patted herself down. “Man, it’s totally skin-tight!”

Joker opened his mouth, about to compliment her on her new Persona and outfit, when a shimmering light from his side made him squint. Everyone turned to see an apparition appear— one in the form of Wakaba. Joker recognized her well.

“Another thing showed up?!” Skull gasped. The apparition was beaming tearfully at her daughter.

“Futaba. Thank you for choosing to remember the real me.” Joker’s eyes widened as the new cognition turned to him and bowed. “Ah, and there you are, too, Ren. I can never thank you enough for all you and your team did to help my daughter and I.”

Futaba gasped softly and turned to Ren. “So... it was really, really true the whole time... I mean, I knew it was, but...”

“What was true the whole time?” Queen questioned, staring at Joker. Joker, however, just blanched. The high from the battle and Futaba’s awakening rapidly fizzled out and died as the implication dawned upon him

“Are you a cognition?” he asked hesitantly. Wakaba shook her head.

“You know the answer to that— though I suppose in a way, that’s right. Her cognition of me has been corrected, and now I can manifest here using that, visible to all. Normally, ghosts cannot enter Palaces, as they do not exist in the cognition of the Palace ruler.” 

She crossed her arms as Joker took a step back. 

“The time has come, young man.”


	15. Long Time Coming

“The time has come, young man.”

The statement made his blood run cold in spite of the desert heat that was burning him. His promise had come, something he hadn’t quite had sink in as an event that would really happen

“Time for what?” Panther asked. Joker took a step back. He could feel his heart racing again, as though he was back in the fight with the massive sphinx again. He stopped as he felt Fox put a firm hand on his shoulder. Morgana just stared between the two, silent. 

“I promised him I would deliver undeniable proof of his gift to all of you, and that this time would come.” She turned to a still white-faced Joker, who was wide eyed but silent. Fox squeezed his shoulder reassuringly, and she smiled as she turned back to the others. “You can all see me because of the nature of this world, and the cognition of my daughter, but under normal circumstances, you would never be able to see me or hear me... for very few can see the spirits of the dead.”

Realization dawned on Queen’s face as she turned to stare, wide-eyed, at a cringing Joker. Skull blinked. “What do you mean? Are you a ghost or somethin’?”

Wakaba nodded. “Exactly— and Ren has been the only one capable of seeing and communicating with me from the start, since June. Right, Futaba?” Futaba nodded and brushed back a lock of hair. Her next words were calm and matter-of-fact. 

“He sees ghosts.”

Skull and Panther’s eyes widened; both turned to stare at Joker, too, who felt faint.

“Joker.” Skull addressed gently. “This is what you were hidin’? This whole time?”

Joker swallowed hard and nodded. Tears were prickling at his eyes, but he was fighting it back with all he had. Skull and Panther groaned, and for a moment, he felt cold, hard dread.

“God damn it...” Skull huffed as he turned to a smug-looking Fox. “I can’t believe you won the bet!”

Joker froze. His head shot up, and with wide eyes, he blinked dumbly at his friends.

_ “What.” _he intoned. Panther scoffed and twirled a lock of hair around her finger. 

“What, did you think we’d be shocked after all we’ve seen?”

“I believe I’m owed 1000¥ and a 12-pack of jagariko.” Fox cut in calmly. Panther looked between him and Joker and scratched her head as she frowned.

“You were a little too on point with your prediction... did you cheat? Joker, did he cheat?!”

Joker felt a bit of weight lift off his chest at the bickering, and he smiled wearily. “I had to speak with him about his mother, so... yeah. He found out in late June.”

Skull scowled and glared at Fox. “So THAT’s why you suddenly wanted in on our bet!”

“You didn’t say I couldn’t use insider knowledge.” Fox replied with a shrug. Skull and Panther both opened their mouths to protest, but Mona cleared his throat. 

“Let’s talk about this later in the real world.” he interjected. He turned to see Futaba had approached Wakaba, who was shaking her head.

“Don’t come closer.”

“But... I finally got to see you again...” Futaba said, voice cracking. Wakaba chuckled.

“Are you being selfish again?”

The girl looked down and kicked the ground quietly. “No...” she muttered. She looked up again at her mom. Her eyes were impossible to read behind her mask, but her lips were quivering. “Um... I love you, Mom!”

Wakaba sniffled and wiped her eyes. “And I love you, Futaba. So much— always and forever.” 

With that, she disappeared into the light. Futaba reached out after her but stopped partway. She let her arms hang loosely as she stared up into the sky where her mother had been. After a moment, Futaba turned her gaze on Joker and smiled tearfully. She ran forward and threw her arms around him; after a stunned moment, he returned the hug as she sniffled into his chest.

“Thank you,” she whispered, “thank you!”

Joker laughed and smiled weakly. “I made a promise, didn’t I?”

A throat cleared. They pulled apart to see the rest of the team staring. Panther was sniffling, Fox was openly tearing up, Queen was still standing, staring, dumbfounded. Mona was beaming proudly at Joker, and even Skull looked a bit teary-eyed. Futaba put her hands behind her back while Joker scratched the back of his neck and blushed.

“We’ll talk about this later.” he croaked, looking down. Futaba nodded and began walking off. 

“Wait,” Queen sputtered, “where are you going?”

“Home,” Futaba replied calmly, “I know how to use the app now.”

She continued on her way, and the others stared after her— Joker found some solace in the suddenly diversion. “Okay.” Queen said dazedly. Fox scoffed.

“That girl marches to the beat of her drum, doesn’t she?” he said dryly. Skull scoffed. 

“Like you’re one to talk...” He turned back to Joker— everyone did. “So, about all that...”

“It’ll have to wait until we leave the Palace.” Mona interrupted. “Let’s get the treasure.”

* * *

The sarcophagus has ended up being empty. Futaba herself was the treasure, and with the Palace ruler awakened to her own treasure, the Palace promptly and violently collapsed. The others only narrowly escaped. 

What troubled Ren was the fact that upon return to the real world, he came to to see Wakaba staring down at him in dismay. He gasped. “Isshiki-san?” he breathed in a whisper, wincing as he sat up, away from the hot ground. “Didn’t you move on?”

“I thought I did, but I’m still here,” she said, wide eyed, “but that aside, my daughter is unconscious outside of Sojiro’s house— please get her help!”

Ren nodded and rose to his feet, ignoring the others as he hurried to Sojiro’s home. True to her word, Futaba was hunched over by the gate, out cold.

“Ren!”

He jumped and turned as he saw Makoto and Morgana running up to him. Makoto gasped at the sight of the girl. “Is she—“

“She’s still alive.” Ren promised after a cursory glance around for another ghost. “I would know.”

Makoto grimaced. “We’ll... talk about that later. Her condition...”

“Don’t you know a doctor?” Morgana prompted. Makoto let out a sigh of relief. 

“You do? Can you call them?”

With a nod, Ren fished his phone from his pocket, grateful for the distraction from his own situation.

“Please,” Wakaba whispered, “help her.”

* * *

Takemi had ruled that Futaba was exhausted, but otherwise fine, much to everyone’s relief. Still, Wakaba wasn’t moving on.

“I don’t know why,” Wakaba said anxiously as she stared down at her daughter, “but I’ll worry about that later. I’m staying with her until she recovers; you go handle your own situation.”

Ren felt his gut lurch as he was promptly escorted back to Leblanc by his team. Morgana and Yusuke tried a few times to whisper words of reassurance, but Ren was too distracted and his heart was racing too fast.

They gathered in the attic. Ren, with his glasses off, clutched a glass of cold water they had gotten him and stared down at the water in a daze as the others gathered around and shared looks. A silence fell for what felt like an eternity.

Finally, he swallowed hard and spoke. “I’m guessing you all want to know about... what all of that was.”

“We know what’s going on now.” Ann sighed. “We all heard Futaba’s mother— and heard you talk to her when we left the Palace.”

Ren winced. “Oh... you heard that, huh?”

Makoto nodded. She looked and sounded uncomfortable. “Isshiki-san is having... difficulty... moving on?” 

Ren shrugged. “Yeah; she doesn’t know why. She said she’s staying with Futaba for the time being and I guess we’ll try to figure out why later.” Sucking in a breath, he picked his head up. “Awhile ago, she told me she was going to show you all... irrefutable evidence to prove my... thing I can do.”

“Your gift.” Yusuke corrected. Ren swallowed hard and shrugged.

“If you want to call it that...” He scoffed. “I never would have imagined she meant she’d appear physically to tell you all I see her in the real world.”

Ann frowned and crossed her legs. “Ren, you didn’t have to wait until she could do that. We would have believed you before all of that.” She shook her head. “Still... it’s amazing. You really see ghosts...”

The leader glanced up hesitantly and shrugged sheepishly. “It’s not something I asked for. It’s mostly been a burden, and I don’t like talking about it.”

“Ren, man...” Ryuji shook his head and frowned sadly. His eyes broke Ren’s heart. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”

His voice was unusually quiet and gentle. Ren sighed and wiped his eyes. “Don’t get me wrong, I knew at some point you guys wouldn’t hate me, but... I was still afraid, deep down. Afraid and ashamed.”

Makoto made a startled noise, and everyone looked over to see her sitting erect, stunned. The girl’s eyes bulged just as wide as they had gone in the Palace. “My father.” she gasped. Makoto’s voice cracked, and tears were welling in her eyes. “Is... he...?”

Ren nodded. “He led me to you when you were getting taken by Kaneshiro’s men. He said you were getting blackmailed by Kobayakawa.” He paused and toyed with a lock of his hair. “Um... he’s not here right now, though. After Kaneshiro’s change of heart, he said your sister needs more help right now. He also said he’d be by tomorrow.”

“... That is true that my sister needs more help.” Makoto admitted quietly. “What... does he look like?”

Ren tugged at a lock of hair. “Tall, short black hair. Little bit of stubble. Red eyes, round nose. Cop uniform, with a Buchimaru-kun pin on his left sleeve.” At Makoto’s gasp, he shrugged. “Also, he asked me to tell you when you found out... er... ‘it’s Buchi cop time.’”

Makoto’s eyes were near the point of bulging as her jaw dropped. She put a hand in front of her mouth for a minute before she closed her eyes and broke into a sob, but... she was smiling. “Father...! You really have been... you really...” She cleared her throat. “He— I said that to himevery morning when I was a little girl, when he went to work with that pin on.” She sucked in  a breath and wiped her eyes. “If— when you see him again tomorrow—“

“I’ll be your middleman.” Ren agreed. She beamed.

“Thank you,” she whispered, “thank you so much. It means a lot to just know that he’s... he’s okay. I’ll learn to adjust to the situation.” She paused and blanched. Her eyes widened comically. “W— Wait... he... does that mean... he saw what I did when I confronted Kaneshiro in the real world...?” 

Ren nodded with a wry smile, and Makoto’s entire face went a deep scarlet as she shoved her face into her hands. Ann just giggled and wiped her eyes. 

“You really do have something special, Ren.” she remarked. “Why are you so embarrassed over it?”

Ren looked away and didn’t respond for a moment. Finally, he looked up again with exhausted eyes. “Because my own parents don’t believe me. No one believed me. They taught me I had to keep quiet, had to keep my mouth shut. That I should be embarrassed about it and ignore what I see.” 

He could feel tears trying to emerge again, but he held them back. Yusuke squeezed his hand; he looked up to see the artist nod at him encouragingly. Ren swallowed hard and spoke again, though his voice cracked. “I— until Morgana and Yusuke, I had no one who even really knew and believed me, except for one fortune teller lady in Shinjuku.” He shuddered; his eyes were haunted. “You have no idea what my parents did to me in the name of trying to ‘cure’ me. I have literally never had anyone to support me until a little over a month ago.”

Ryuji growled. “That’s bullshit! They should have—“ Ann nudged him, and the boy silenced. His eyes softened, and he leaned forward. “Ren...” he started in the gentle voice from earlier as he put a hand on his shoulder and met his eyes. “Remember how I said I’d be there to help you with whatever you needed? And how your place is by me and my place is by you?”

Ren did remember those sweet moments following their efforts to help the track team come together and free them from a malicious coach were very clear in his memory. Once in a monja shop and the other in a ramen shop; both times as Ryuji expressed his admiration and gratitude, his eyes were filled with nothing but love.

He had long feared that love would turn to disgust, fear, or disbelief once he learned his secret. Ren swallowed hard and nodded. He felt tears prickling at the corners of his eyes, but he pushed them back. “I... do. I do remember.”

“I meant it,” Ryuji said seriously, “every word, man— I’ll be here for you no matter what, ‘cuz we’ll always have each other’s backs. You never had to hide this from me.” He smiled warmly. “It doesn’t bother me at all that you see ghosts, and I wish I had known sooner so I coulda helped you with ghost stuff from the start.” 

Ren tried in vain to steel his facial expression as Ryuji put an arm around his shoulders and squeezed tightly, affectionately. “I think you’re great, and I’ll do everythin’ I can to help you with this— both with dealin’ with ghosts and helpin’ you come to terms with yourself.” He shrugged. “I don’t know much about ghosts ‘cuz I can’t see ‘em like you do, but I’ll help anyways however I can.”

“Me, too.” Ann agreed, her eyes just as soft and adoring as Ryuji’s as she clutched one of Ren’s hands and squeezed reassuringly. “I wish I could have helped you with this much earlier. You’ve had to suffer in silence, all alone, for so long...” 

She sighed regretfully and frowned, her eyes downcast. “Shiho was the same way— suffering in silence because she thought no one would believe her or help her. I—“ She sniffled and wiped an eye as she looked back up at him with a quivering lip. “I don’t want to fail a friend like that ever again. I’m here for you no matter what.” She smiled tearfully. “I think you should be very proud, Ren. Your gift helped Yusuke and his mother, Futaba, Makoto...” She nodded. “You can do a lot of good things with this; I can’t wait to help you.”

“There’s nothing to be ashamed or afraid of,” Makoto agreed, looking upon him with awe, “and I can’t wait to talk to my father with your help. He died before I could tell him so many things I needed to...” She sniffled. “I’m sorry if I seem shaken; I just... I’ve always been afraid of ghosts, but with your help with my father... I’ll get past it.” The girl uncrossed her arms and brushed back a lock of hair as she smiled at him. “We all like you just the way you are. Please stop hiding; we don’t want you to conceal such a wonderful part of yourself.” 

“Never again.” Yusuke agreed proudly. Ren stared at all of them, speechless, as nods were shared and loving looks were cast in his direction. His chin quivered, and he covered his face with a hand as he began to shake. When Ann wrapped her arms around him in a tight, reassuring hug, a sob escaped him against his will. He slowly lifted his arms up to return the hug. When she pulled away, Yusuke startled him by pulling him into another deep, full hug. Any semblance of control over his tears faded as he pulled away from that with a wet face and relieved smile.

“Thank you.” he murmured. “Thank you...”

“I told you they’d be okay with it!” Morgana trilled proudly. Ren laughed and wiped his eyes. 

“Yeah. Guess you did.” He shook his head and laughed in spite of himself. “God, this isn’t like me. I’m not supposed to show emotion.”

“Oh, Ren, don’t even.” Makoto reproached, though she was still smiling tearfully herself as she wiped the side of her face. “We’re so happy to see you’re letting your guard down. You’ve had it up for so long... it must have been very hard.”

Ren gave a coy smile that faded in favor of bewilderment as Ryuji stood up. “Alright!” he said proudly, his own face a little red and damp. He rolled his shoulder. “The Phantom Thieves have another mission now— helpin’ actual phantoms! All in agreement?”

“Agreed!”

“Yeah!”

“Let’s do this!” 

“It’s unanimous!”

Ren felt his heart flutter, but he shrugged shyly. “I— appreciate that, but I don’t really know how. I was just sort of winging it with the other ghosts so far.”

“We’ll make it work.” Yusuke said, determined. “However we have to, we’ll make it work so we can put spirits to rest.”

Ren grimaced and wrung his fingers, looking down at his hands. “What if I have to play medium like that again, though? It...”

“We’ll do what we can to avoid it,” Makoto reassured, “and I’m sure a lot of ghosts don’t need that. Maybe they just need to finish business or convey to loved ones that they’re okay— long, drawn out conversations may not be the norm.”

“Still,” Ann interrupted with a smile, “whatever the case, we’ll do it together, alright?”

Ren stared at all of them for a few moments. They were wide-eyed and still shocked, but... proud, he thought.

Finally, he smiled weakly and bowed his head. “I’ll do my best. I owe you all— thank you.”

“You don’t owe us anything.” Ryuji reassured with a smile. “If anything, we owe you for all the help an’ shit you’ve done for each of us. Supportin’ you and your power to see ghosts is just returning the favor!” 

Yusuke cleared his throat and turned to Ryuji and Ann with a smile. “Speaking of owing...”

Both scowled at him. “Why should we pay you?! You cheated!” Ann protested. Ryuji scoffed and nodded.

“Yeah! Dude! Did you really think we wouldn’t find out you were just cheatin’ eventually?”

Yusuke shrugged. “I had to try.”

Ryuji blinked at him. “What, not even gonna try to argue?”

The artist shook his head. “No. Truth be told, I wasn’t actually expecting a reward. I only got in on the bet to broach the subject of Ren’s power without actually giving him away. I was hoping you’d be calmer about finding out when the time came as a result.” He chuckled. “The money and jagariko would have just been a nice bonus.”

Ren gasped. “You really did that... for me...?”

“Yes.” Yusuke cocked his head at him. “Does that surprise you?”

The leader blinked. “Uh— um— yes, actually. I was not at all expecting that.” He smiled. “Thanks.”

“It’s the least I could do.” Yusuke replied calmly as ever. Ryuji and Ann shared a look, and finally, Ryuji let out a groan and slapped a bill on the table in front of Yusuke.

“Here,” he grumbled, resigned, “that should be just enough to get you the twelve pack of jagariko. Well played, but I’m not givin’ you the 1000¥.”

Yusuke smiled brightly. “How generous. You have my thanks.” He pocketed the bill while Makoto rolled her eyes as well.

“If we’re done with this nonsense... helping ghosts might not be the only application of his gift.” She smiled. “We could contact victims— even deceased ones now— for the names of those who need a change of heart.”

“That’s right, Makoto!” Morgana agreed excitedly, standing up. “We’ll leave no tracks and no witnesses because so few can speak to the dead, and we get targets that otherwise might have escaped scot-free! Plus, we’ll be able to avenge and put ghosts to rest, too!”

“Oh, shit!” Ryuji beamed. “That’d be awesome! Killing two birds with one stone, eh?”

Ren smiled sheepishly and put a hand on the back of his neck. “I’ll do my best.”

Morgana laughed cheerfully. “I don’t think you even realize what an amazing gift you have on your hands, Ren. You were already a tremendous boon to the team with your Wildcard ability— this is even more amazing! Think of all the possibilities!” He sighed blissfully and sat down. “You truly are something special.”

The leader blushed and smiled shyly as he scratched the back of his neck. He laughed, tired and still a bit teary but beaming.

“... Thanks again, guys.”


	16. Dead Guy Whisperer

Makoto ended up arriving early, long before the others. She was shaking with wide-eyes anticipation as she came up the stairs, with her father in tow. The morning sun was slowly beginning to heat up the city, and bright morning light had filled the attic. In spite of the growing heat, both Ren and Makoto alike were shivering, one with nerves and the other with excitement. Morgana remained on the bed, watching quietly.

“Good morning.” Ren greeted.

“Good morning.” Makoto said quietly. She brushed back a side lock of hair. “Is... is he with me?”

The boy smiled and scratched the back of his neck. “He is.” He bowed to her father. “Good morning, Niijima-san.”

Genkei, too, was smiling excitedly and tearing up as he waved a hand. “No need for formalities, kid. Let’s get to it.”

“What did he say?” Makoto pressed eagerly. Ren shrugged.

“He said no formalities necessary, and that he wants to get to it. He’s very excited.”

Makoto giggled. “The feeling is mutual.” She gestured to the couch. “Let’s sit.”

They took their seats, side by side. Genkei Niijima stepped forward, standing over the two as Ren looked up at him. Though she couldn’t see him, Makoto followed his gaze. 

“Alright,” Ren started, stretching his arms, “who goes first?”

“Let father go first... actually, wait, I have something to say.” Makoto hung her head. “Father... I’m sorry for putting myself and the others in danger back with Kaneshiro. It’s no excuse, but what sis and Ann had said... sort of made me lose it. I can only imagine how angry you were.”

Genkei didn’t respond for a moment. He put a hand on his hip and scratched his head before sighing. “I’m not upset with you, Makoto. I was at the time, but you learned your lesson several times over, and it turned out for the best.” He smiled. “If anything, I’m proud of you for owning up to it, taking down Kaneshiro, and shaking off that rat bastard principal.”

Ren turned to Makoto and repeated what was said. Makoto’s eyes widened. “R— Really? You’re... you’re proud of me...?”

Genkei laughed. “Very much so, Mako-Mako. I know you have a fighting spirit in you— and a rebellious spirit. Literally, now, given you Awakened to a Persona. I’m told you bore it well.”

The boy translated. Makoto blushed. “O— Oh... it... it was nothing, just... what I had to do, but... thanks.” She put a hand on her chin and sniffled. “‘Mako-Mako’... I remember you calling me that.” She cleared her throat and looked up, wide-eyed, into the seemingly open air. “So... you don’t mind that I’m... a Phantom Thief?”

He crossed his arms. “I’m more worried about you than anything, but I know that you’re a big girl now. You have chosen your own path, which couldn’t make me prouder.” He pumped a fist to his chest and beamed. “I support you and the Phantom Thieves wholeheartedly. You operate for the sake of others, the sake of justice— something too many in power have forgotten. Something too many policemen have forgotten. I donned the uniform to defend others, not the establishment’s interests.” He wiped an eye. “And... I couldn’t be prouder to know that you understand that, that you fight for that. Just never forget that.”

Ren repeated it back to Makoto, he himself reddening. Makoto beamed and nodded. “Thank you for supporting me... supporting us. I promise I will never forget who we’re fighting for and why.” She sighed heavily and looked down, squeezing her knees. “You never forgot that... even when it cost you your life. I would be remiss to forget that.”  The girl paused and sniffled again, wiping her reddening eyes. “Father... I’ve missed you. So much. You got taken away from us far too soon...”

“I missed you, too, Makoto.” he whispered, kneeling down to her eye level. As Ren’s gaze shifted, Makoto followed it. The girl shivered as the ghost tried to reach for her hand, only for his hand to go right through her. The man looked pained as Makoto flinched.

“I felt something.” Makoto whispered, wide eyed. Ren put a hand to the back of his neck. 

“He tried to grasp your hand and forgot that ghosts can’t touch people.”

Makoto sobbed and wiped her eyes. “Oh, Father...” She took a deep breath and shook her head. “It’s okay if you can’t touch me— I’m just so happy you’re here. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Makoto.” the ghost whispered. He reached up and brushed a hand against her cheek; in spite of the lack of touch, Makoto shivered from a cold breeze brushing up against her face. “I always have and always will.”

As Ren repeated it, Makoto covered her face and cried. Ren gently reached in to pat her shoulder and ended up holding her as she wept. He felt uncomfortable as he also heard her father weeping, but he didn’t move or pull away from Makoto. When she finally pulled back, she took a deep breath and wiped her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she breathed, “I just...”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Ren reassured gently, “I know this is... a lot.”

“To say the least.” her father agreed as he wiped his own eyes. 

Makoto cleared her throat and smiled hopefully at Ren, her face still red and wet. “If it wouldn’t be too much trouble... would you be willing to let my father and I talk, once a week?”

Ren smiled and nodded. “I’d be happy to help.”

She let out a relieved breath and smiled. “Thank you...” The girl turned back to where she knew her father to be. Her expression sobered quickly, and she frowned. “About Sis, though... I— she has a Palace, Father.”

“I know.” Genkei said mournfully with a shake of the head. “It breaks my heart, but... she’s forgotten what’s important.” He looked up hopefully. “I was hoping to ask if you could perhaps change her heart next— she needs the help.”

Makoto hesitated after Ren translated. She looked down and  didn’t respond for a minute. Ren frowned. “Makoto?”

“... I want to change her heart. I do.” She sucked in a breath and looked back up. “But... I’m not ready. I’m still mentally preparing myself; I know we need to change her heart, and we will, but... that’s... going to be difficult.” She hung her head. “I’m sorry; I know I’m being selfish, but... I’m not ready. The prospect of fighting her Shadow is...” She gripped her knees again tightly. “Please, just... just give me a little longer.”

Genkei sighed, heavily, and bowed his head. “... I understand. But... don’t forget. Please.”

Ren told Makoto, who shook her head. “I won’t. I promise.” She nodded. “Thank... thank you, Father.” 

The man laughed. “Thank him. He’s the one who’s emotionally constipated but helping us anyways.”

Ren flushed. “I’m not telling her that! And I’m not emotionally constipated!”

Makoto and Morgana alike burst into mad giggles. The girl looked up at him and wiped her eyes. “Oh, Ren, don’t be stubborn. Tell me what he said.”

“But...”

“Ren.”

The boy groaned and crossed his arms. “He said to thank me, because I’m the one who’s helping even though I’m... apparently ‘emotionally constipated.’” He groaned as the others burst into more giggles. “Come on... laughing at my expense...”

“That means he likes you.” Makoto said wryly. “He teases people he likes. He did that to Sis and I all the time.”

“Shh, Mako-Mako, don’t give away my secrets!” he scolded. He shook his head. “Speaking of secrets... if you’re planning to go to Mementos anytime soon, I’ve got some targets for you.” 

Ren’s eyes widened. “You have targets for us?”

“Ooh!” Morgana stood up, his tail standing on end. “This was what I was talking about! Targets that ghosts might be able to give us!”

“We’d be honored to help however we can.” Makoto said cheerfully. She pulled out her phone and began tapping at the screen. “Give us the names; we’ll make the changes of heart happen.”

“We got new targets?”

Ren yelped at the sound of Ryuji’s voice. All eyes turned to see the rest of the Thieves beginning to peek upstairs. Ann flushed. “I’m sorry! Were we interrupting?”

Genkei stood and grinned. “You’re just in time! I was just about to give Mako-Mako some targets for you all while you’re waiting for Futaba-chan to wake up and deal with Medjed.” He turned to Ren. “Tell them, Ren.”

Ren told them as he was told. All the team lit up. “Excellent!” Yusuke exclaimed. “We should get to work promptly. We have new targets today!”

Ryuji began snickering. Everyone paused and gave the blond funny looks; Ren frowned. “Ryuji?”

“Hey, Ren,” Ryuji said a little too cheerfully, “you shoulda seen your face when we came in and surprised you. You looked like you...” He grinned. “Just saw a ghost.”

A chorus of groans came as Ryuji laughed and Ren facepalmed. Ann shook her head. “That one actually hurt.” she grumbled.

“Is this my life now?” Ren questioned as he put his hand down. Ryuji beamed.

“Damn right!” 

“That was lame, kid.” Genkei groaned. “Anyways, Ren, bring ‘em all in and listen well; I’ve got quite a few names for you...”

* * *

They found each and every person Genkei named in Mementos. Once Mishima had posted the names on the site at their request, it was as simple a matter as driving to each target.

“How did you find me?!” cried one of their targets in disbelief, a corrupt officer. “The only person who knew what I was up to is dead!”

Joker and the team had just grinned deviously at the Shadow before jumping into battle.

By the time they left, it was already evening, and all were exhausted from the sheer number of targets they got through in the day. All changes of heart had been successful, though, and they returned to the real world swelling with pride. They returned to Leblanc and enjoyed curry (avoiding the funny look Sojiro was giving them) and headed to the bathhouse to soothe their tired muscles.

“Maaan,” Ryuji whispered from his spot beside Ren and Yusuke in the bath, “your ability is freaking incredible, Ren. So many of the targets today never saw it coming ‘cuz they thought they were getting off scot-free.” He grinned and playfully elbowed him. “You go, dead guy whisperer!”

Yusuke scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Such an uninspired title for our leader...” He smiled softly. “But Ryuji is right. We brought our justice to many who would have otherwise escaped, and it’s all thanks to you and Makoto’s father. It was an honor fighting today.”

Ren couldn’t bring himself to respond verbally. He flushed a deep red, more than the bath could account for, and stammered. Ryuji laughed. “Oh-ho! We broke that act of yours where you act all cool about everything, huh?”

“Shut up!” Ren protested, playfully shoving Ryuji right back as Ryuji covered his mouth, barely muffling his laughter.

“Hey, young man!” All boys looked up to see an older man on the other side of the tub giving Ren a concerned look. “You, with the black hair; you’re looking awfully red. Careful you don’t stay in the tub too long; you’ll faint!”

Ren sank into the tub and resisted a groan as Ryuji and Yusuke snickered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is sort of off-topic. I know I said ships wouldn't be prominent, but how many of you would be bothered if I threw in a side romance with Makoto? It wouldn't be a main feature of the story.
> 
> The reason I bring this up is because I realized exactly how hilarious the prospect of a Makoto romance would be in this AU.
> 
> "Ren, why did you stop kissing me?" "He... he's standing there... MENACINGLY."
> 
> I want to add it, but welcome hearing other thoughts.


	17. The Fall of Medjed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy 420, here’s an update because I have downtime at work.
> 
> I started the Makoto romance here, but it will not occupy a central role in the fic.

While the next few days were anxiety-ridden as they waited for Futaba to wake up, Ren was simultaneously feeling more relaxed than he had ever been in his life. He had a criminal record and was on probation, but felt the most free he had ever felt in his life. He wondered if Futaba would feel the same way when she woke up eventually.

A day after their foray into Mementos, with Futaba still resting, Ren accompanied Makoto to confront the host that was tricking her friend. Makoto had slapped some sense into her, literally, before the two retreated to the Crossroads bar.

“Eiko was right,” Makoto said glumly, “I would fail a test on love, but I don’t know how to study that.”

The boy bit his lip as he stared at her. He would have been lying if he said he didn’t feel anything for her. It was a feeling that grew every time he had to pretend to be a fake boyfriend. He loved her teasing, how smart she was, how badass she was in the Metaverse plus that straight up slap in broad daylight, the way he couldn’t stop thinking about her when—

He cheeks reddened as the realization hit him. _Oh_ , he told himself. _Oh shit._

“Ren?” Makoto pressed, cocking her head at him. “Do you see—“

“I’ll be your study partner.” he awkwardly sputtered a little too loudly. Mortification overwhelmed him as he looked around for onlookers; thankfully, the bar was empty, but he swore he could hear Lala-chan struggling to hold back laughter.

Makoto’s eyes widened, and she stared at him as he went bright red and hung his head. “Wait, I— I mean— I’m sorry, that just— tumbled out, and I didn’t mean to make you uncomfort—“

He stopped short as she clasped one of his hands. The boy looked back up at Makoto, startled. She was blushing, too, but met his gaze steadily.

“Do you... like me?” she whispered. After a short pause, Ren swallowed hard and nodded. His heart skipped a beat as she smiled bashfully. “... Let’s start dating for real, then.” 

The panic dissolved into buzzing, bubbly giddiness that rose up to his chest and cheeks. He smiled dazedly. “You mean... you like me back? And you don’t mind that I...?”

“I do like you back.” Makoto giggled. “And if anything, your gift is just another reason to l— like you.”

... Well. That was an outcome he didn’t expect. He had had crushes before, but never acted upon them for fear the crush would find out about his little secret and abandon him. The fact that Makoto knew and still liked him left his dizzy with glee. His love for her skyrocketed even more than he thought possible.

A day later during a clumsy first make-out, he remembered about her father. When Makoto asked why he flinched, he smiled nervously and dismissed it. He chose to silently pray her dad wouldn’t barge in at the wrong time, that he would stay with Sae as he said he would. 

The rapture over his first romantic relationship as well as his anxiety over her father snooping almost made him forget about the case at hand.

* * *

The next morning, Futaba had came marching into Leblanc like it was no one’s business and popped herself up on a barstool. She laid her front half against the tabletop as Sojiro gaped at her; the man had jumped in shock at the mere sight of her.

“Coffee.” she pleaded bluntly. Sojiro gaped at her for a good few seconds before shaking his head, eyes wide.

“How did you get here?” he gasped. The girl just cocked her head at him.

“Uhh... I walked?” She slapped the tabletop lightly. “Coffee? Please?”

Sojiro stammered for a moment before dumbly nodding and getting to work preparing a cup. Futaba caught Ren’s smile over by the sink where he was washing dishes and waved. “Yo. Mornin’, Ren.”

“Good morning, Futaba.” he replied wryly. “How’s it back in the land of the living?”

Futaba shrugged and giggled. “Dunno. Why don’t you ask the people in the land of the dead? Can’t you do that?”

Ren snickered, but stopped as Sojiro looked between the two, stunned.

“I... what?” He blinked. “How in the... why... when...?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Futaba huffed. She groaned melodramatically. “Coffee... and curry...! Otherwise I’ll _diiie_ and the only person who can help me then is Ren!”

Ren feigned a smile as Sojiro gave him another funny look. He shrugged. “Inside joke.” 

Sojiro’s eyes widened even further. “You two have inside jokes?!” 

“What, you jealous?” Futaba giggled. Sojiro shook his head.

“N—No, that’s not it, I just... how... when...?”

_“Sojirooo.”_ Futaba whined. “Coffee...”

The man gaped at her and Ren, turning between the two before slowly nodding. “I... okay.” He turned to Ren. “Why don’t you take a break?”

The boy dried off his hands and took his seat by Futaba, who patted the seat next to her. As he sat, she hummed to herself.

“Feel like I’m forgetting something...”

Ren’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Medjed?”

The girl blinked. “Oh, yeah!” she smiled. “Let’s eat first. Then we’ll handle that.”

* * *

Futaba took her seat at her computer and cracked her knuckles as Ren and Morgana sat on her bed. Ren stole glances up at a still-silent Wakaba by the closet, The girl giggled madly. “So... how am I going to cook them...”

“You sure you’ll be okay handling this?” Morgana asked. Futaba spun to the cat, wide-eyed.

“The kitty talked?!” She shook her head. “Am I still dreaming? Maybe I should go back to sleep...”

Morgana stood up, wide eyed. “I am NOT a dream! Ren, say something!”

“He’s a talking cat,” Ren said quickly, “he’s the cat thing you saw in the Metaverse. You heard him there so you can hear him here.”

She blinked several times before shakily nodding. “R—Right.” The girl paused and cocked her head to the side. “Can ghosts understand him, too?”

Ren nodded. “Yeah. All the ones I’ve spoken to seem able to. Your mom responds to him.”

“Can the cat see ghosts, too?”

“No.” Morgana replied. She shivered and turned back to her computer.

“... Right.”

As she began typing away, Wakaba sighed. “There’s no talking to her after this point... her focus is completely consumed.” She looked about the filthy room— papers were strewn on the floor, bags of trash were piled against the wall, and the room was stuffy and stank of body odor. “Ren, could you please be a dear and clean up her room while she’s distracted? She’s going to be awhile, anyways.”

* * *

Ren and Morgana managed to clean the entire room to a sparkling clean while Futaba was occupied. The wooden floor was visible, and all the trash had been removed. Ren went went to the effort to wash the girl’s sheets and make the bed when he saw Futaba was still working. The room felt and smelled cleaner, like lemon after the floor cleaner he had used.

The two looked about the room, admiring their work, though Futaba didn’t seem to notice as she continued typing away. Wakaba smiled at Ren. “Thank you. She’s still busy, though; why don’t you take a seat on the bed and wait?”

With little else to do, they sat back down. 

* * *

“I’m _done!”_

Ren and Morgana jerked awake from where they had dozed off on the bed, Ren sitting up and Morgana laying down.

“Huh? What? What’s done?” Morgana drowsily stammered. Futaba stretched her arms up and out.

“It’s done.” she repeated, calm as ever. She turned to the two, about to say something, only to pause at the sight of her room. Her eyes widened. “Whoa! Why is it so clean?!”

“We cleaned it.” Morgana said bluntly, scratching an ear with his back leg. Futaba blinked.

“So someone cleaned my room while I cleaned up Medjed. I don’t understand, but it’s good!”

With that, she swiveled her chair back to her desk, popped a cat-head pillow out from beside her computer, laid down on it, and passed out unceremoniously. Snores began to escape her almost as soon as she fell asleep.

“Futaba...?” Morgana questioned. Wakaba shrugged. 

“There’s no waking her now. Just leave her be for now.”

* * *

Ren woke up late the next day. He wasn’t even sure what time it was as he moaned and rubbed his eyes ruefully. The light from the window warmed his body too much, but he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to pull the sheets over his head.

“Are you finally awake?”

The boy groaned for a few seconds before he pulled the sheet off of his head and saw Morgana staring at him from the ground. The cat scratched his ear. “Good, you’re finally up. You should get dressed and come downstairs.”

As if on cue, he heard Boss call for him— his friends were over. With a weary sigh, he pulled himself out of bed and dressed himself. He headed downstairs, still baggy-eyed, to see Sojiro behind the counter and his friends around the center booth. Ann threw her arm over the back of the booth seat as she turned to smile at Ren.

“Hey! You slept late.”

Sojiro put his hands on his hips as he shook his head at Ren with a disapproving frown. “Did you know it’s past noon?”

Ren just blinked and rubbed his eyes. “What century is it?”

Ryuji laughed and grinned deviously. “Guess you... slept like the dead, huh?”

Everyone looked pained as they stared silently at Ryuji, their protests muffled with Sojiro present. Makoto punched his shoulder, drawing a wince from him. The barista still looked between them and Ren with a funny look. “Are they in on your inside joke with Futaba, too?”

Ren smiled wryly and put a hand on the back of his neck. “You could say that.”

_ “We have a special report.” _

All turned to the TV as a news anchor began speaking. A picture of the Medjed website with a Phantom Thieves logo slapped over it was next to him. _“Late last night, the Medjed website was vandalized with the insignia of the Phantom Thieves; furthermore, the personal information of a Japanese man suspected to be a member of Medjed was illegally publicized. Medjed has yet to issue a response, and for now, the cleanse of Japan’s economy remains unimplemented. We will update the story as we receive more information...”_

The team shared proud grins and giggles as Sojiro yet again gave them funny looks. “What’s gotten into all of you?”

“Nothing.” Ren lied, though his smile gave him away. Sojiro scowled.

“Well, stop it. You’ll scare away my customers.”

Ryuji looked over the empty cafe and back at Sojiro. “But... there ain’t any customers...”

“Can it.”

The bell above the door jingled, and all looked over to see Futaba entering, her hands behind her back. Ren judged by her baggy eyes that she had just awakened, too, and had come in search of coffee. Wakaba was in tow behind her. 

Futaba made a beeline for Ren, her eyes immediately locking onto him. “Yo.” she greeted. Makoto waved a hand.

“Good afternoon.”

The girl flinched and retreated behind Ren. A small, anxious whine escaped her as the others frowned. Yusuke shook his head. “It seems she is still cautious of us.”

Sojiro jerked a thumb towards the staircase. “Why don’t you all head upstairs? Futaba, you go with him.”

* * *

Futaba resisted efforts to talk with the team and sat quietly on Ren’s bed with her back facing the team. Aside from learning she was the original Medjed, she didn’t share much; she barely even seemed interested when asked to join the Phantom Thieves. The most they got out of her was a nonchalant “‘Kay.’”

“Ren, is her mom here?” Ann questioned. He nodded; Futaba perked up and looked over as the team looked at Ren expectantly. The boy blushed a bit at the attention as he nodded curtly.

“Ah, good.” Makoto cleared her throat. “Isshiki-san, what would you advise we do now?”

Ren looked up at the spirit as she looked between him and her daughter, a hand on her chin. Finally, she nodded and focused on Ren. “I’d appreciate it if you could help rehabilitate her— get her used to being out and dealing with people again. I don’t expect it to be an overnight process, but if you could all spend time with her and be patient, that would be nice. Why not start with having her get used to all of you?”

The leader nodded once and turned back to his team. He relayed the information; Futaba let out a whine and hugged her knees.

“Dealing with people, huh...? Mom wants me to do that?”

“It would be good for you.” Makoto said calmly. “And Ren would be with you every day of the process of getting to know us.”

Futaba whined anxiously and frowned at Ren. “You promise?”

“I promise.”

The girl sighed and looked down. “If Mom says so... fine...”

“Excellent,” Makoto started as she looked over the team, “let’s plan how we’re doing this...”

Futaba didn’t listen as they talked amongst themselves. She just kept her eyes on the ground and hugged herself. Wakaba approached the girl and gently tried to pat her head. The girl shivered at the cold breeze and teared up. 

“I’ll do it,” she whispered, “for you, mom.”


	18. White Lie

The next few days were a bit rocky, but ended well. They started with Yusuke and Makoto entering her room; Futaba wore an oversized dollhead mask and initially had trouble holding a conversation. That is, until Yusuke rearranged her beloved Featherman figurines. A full-on argument eventually ended up a normal conversation— a success.

The day after was Ryuji and Ann, with bags of snacks. They had mostly ended up chatting upstairs about sundry topics (and at one point, Futaba told poor Ryuji he had no sex appeal). Ren called it another success as she warmed up to the two blonds.

On the third day, Futaba helped in the cafe, with great reluctance. She had ended up nearly scaring a customer half to death when she served him coffee while wearing her dollhead mask. Thankfully, the customer was a good sport about it.

The only caveat was that Wakaba seemed detached. Futaba frequently asked Ren to help her talk to Wakaba, but all they got was short answers. She looked and sounded pained; he couldn’t imagine why. Futaba was left somewhat anxious by it, but managed to make do.

He was lost in his thoughts over it Sojiro pulled him aside while Futaba was washing dishes. The man kept a hand on his chin and gave Ren a curious look. “How’s she been doing?”

“Great, given her circumstances.” He glanced over at her abandoned dollhead mask on one of the tables. “We were talking about going to the beach next, but I’m worried about her. She seems like she has sensory issues and might be overwhelmed by the crowd and the sounds.”

Sojiro sighed and nodded. “That’s a possibility; it worries me, too, but let her have the choice. I expect you to do whatever you have to, though, to keep her safe and get her out of trouble if she needs help.” He cocked his head to the side at Ren and took a breath. “So... you’ve probably guessed this, but... Futaba...”

“Autism spectrum?” Ren guessed. Sojiro nodded.

“Yeah, plus the fact she was a shut-in. She’s doing great, and it’s good you’re pushing her out of her comfort zone within a reasonable range, but remember to take it at her pace, alright?”

Ren smiled. “Yes, sir.”

“Good.” He frowned suspiciously at Ren. “Out of curiosity, how did you two grow so close so quickly? How did you get her out of her room so fast? We tried for years and you got her out in a matter of weeks...”

Ren froze. He stammered awkwardly for a moment as he weighed his options in his head. Telling him the truth was off the table, he immediately decided— he doubted Sojiro would even believe him.

Or if he did, he could react poorly all the same.

“Ren?” Sojiro pressed. The boy gave him a bewildered look as the man frowned worriedly at him. “What’s—“

“I’m bi.” Ren spat out. He immediately wanted to himself as Sojiro blinked at him. “Uh... I mean... well, we’re both sort of... different... from the ‘norm’... very different topics, I guess, but, uh... she seemed to emphasize with me and I with her?”

The man blinked. Ren got the feeling he was unconvinced, but he nodded all the same. “... Alright then.” He clapped his shoulder. “Good for you.”

Ren reddened but silently nodded as Sojiro walked away. Morgana, who had been sitting on a booth seat, laughed at Ren as his tail flicked back and forth.

“Did you just come out to Sojiro instead of telling him about the ghost thing?”

Ren scowled. “Oh, shut up. One time he even asked me if I had boy problems; he probably already guessed. It seemed like the less risky option.”

Morgana cocked his head to the side and frowned. “You sure you don’t want to tell him? You could tell him without mentioning the Phantom Thief parts. I’m sure he’d want to talk to Wakaba, too.”

Ren grimaced and shook his head. “Please, no. I’ve told enough people as it is.”

He didn’t like the way Morgana or Futaba looked at him as the shop closed for the night.

* * *

“I think I know what’s holding me here.”

Ren was greeted by Wakaba as soon as he reached his room. She was standing in the center of his room, looking grim. He blinked and stiffened. “Isshiki-san?”

“I’ll tell you tomorrow night.” she said sternly. “But first, I want you to have a talk with Futaba. Tell her I’m ready to have you make a move. Tomorrow, when Sojiro is at work. Then we’ll move in the evening.”

With that, she disappeared. Ren was left blinking dumbly where she had been, baffled as Morgana nudged him and asked for a translation. 

When he finally was able to speak and tell the cat what was going on, the cat hummed anxiously and looked away. 

“... I think I have an idea why she wants you to talk to Futaba first, but I have no idea why she won’t tell you what needs to be done to fix whatever’s holding her back.” He hopped up on his shoulder and rubbed his head against Ren’s. “Get some sleep, Ren. We have a busy day tomorrow...”

* * *

Around midday, Ren made his very reluctant journey to Sojiro’s house, to Futaba’s room. The air conditioning was of little comfort to him as she sat on her bed, hunched over, clutching her toes.

“You wanted to talk?” she asked hesitantly. Ren swallowed hard and nodded.

“Let’s get to it.” He took a breath and tugged on a lock of his hair. “Your mom... thinks she knows what’s still holding her back. And she wants me to fix whatever it is this evening.” Futaba blanched as he tucked his hands in his pockets. Ren hesitated before continuing. “And that’ll probably mean... she’ll move on when it’s done. I won’t be able to talk to her anymore.”

Futaba stared expressionlessly at him for a moment before staring down at the ground. Ren could hear Wakaba behind him breathing anxiously. 

The girl began to shake. Her back quivered. She looked back up at Ren, face red and eyes tearing up in the corners. “Isn’t there some way my mom can stay here forever?”

Ren frowned guiltily and bit his lip as Futaba stared up at him. Wakaba looked pained as she sighed and put two fingers to her forehead. “Futaba...”

“I mean...” Futaba shook her head. “I just— I just got her back. And you— you could stay forever and translate for her!” She whined. “Makoto gets to keep HER dad around! Why can’t my mom stay forever?!”

Ren took a step back and frowned nervously. “Futaba... Niijima-san will probably move on after I change Sae’s heart, and after we take down all his targets. For your mom, I don’t— I don’t know, I...” 

“Oh, Futaba...” 

He stopped and looked up as Wakaba wearily frowned at her. Futaba turned around, following his gaze, and sniffled. 

“Mom... please... I don’t want to lose you again...”

Wakaba hesitated before sighing and shaking her head. “The dead do not belong in this world. I want to stay with you, but... I’m so tired, Futaba-chan.” She sighed. “You’re being selfish again... but it pains me to say it. I’ve been trying to maintain a distance for that reason; I don’t want to break your heart again, but eventually, I have to go.”

Ren didn’t translate immediately. He looked down in silence, only for Futaba to tug on his shirt. Her eyes were red and angry. “Ren, tell me what she said!”

He gulped; Morgana, from where he sat by the door, took several steps back, his ears pinning back. Ren took a deep breath, sat on the bed beside her, took her hand, and began repeating what Wakaba said. She was silent but sniffling as he explained. Her eyes were quivering. As soon as he was done, Futaba clung to him and cried and cried. 

Rather than respond, Ren chose to hug her as she wept. For a long time, they sat there; no one spoke a word, not even Wakaba. Though he knew what he had to do, guilt clenched his heart.

When the girl was capable of words again, she sniffled and sobbed. “It’s not fair!”

“I know it’s not fair.” Ren murmured sympathetically as she leaned into his shoulder. As she cried, he closed his eyes and sighed. “I know this sucks, but... you both deserve closure. Dragging this out won’t help anyone, and it’s not goodbye forever.”

“That’s right.” Wakaba agreed. The woman was shaking and barely controlled as she kept her hands clasped and nodded. “I think I’ve figured out what’s holding me back. I think I need to get it done with, for everyone’s sake. And I’ll see you again one day, Futaba-chan.”

Ren grit his teeth and told the girl, who burst into another round of crying. This time, no one said anything; he just continued to hold her as she wept. 

“... What does Wakaba want?”

All eyes went to Morgana as the cat stood up. He approached and rubbed his head against Futaba. “She’s been with you all this time, Futaba. I’m sure she wants to stay with you, too; she stayed here all these years with you until Ren could free you.” He looked up where Ren had been looking. “What do you want to happen?”

Wakaba looked between Futaba and the car. After a momentary pause, she shook her head. “What I really want is impossible. The closest I can get is closure for what is plaguing my soul; I want my daughter to move on and become a strong young woman. She doesn’t need me anymore, and Sojiro is taking good care of her. I want the best for her...” She choked as she covered her eyes. “... and I can’t give her that as a dead woman.”

Ren swallowed hard and translated. Futaba continued crying for a long while, which he silently allowed. Eventually, she took a deep, shuddering breath, pulled away, and looked up at him. She nodded stiffly. 

“I understand...” She sighed and leaned her head into his chest. “... I can’t be selfish. She deserves to be free just like you freed me... and it won’t be goodbye forever, right?”

He smiled weakly and nodded. “That’s right.”

Futaba sucked in a breath and wiped a hand over her eyes; she picked off her soaked glasses. “... What do we need to do? I want to save her like she saved me... even if it hurts...”

Wakaba sniffled and began crying as well; but she was smiling weakly. “That’s my girl.” she whispered. “So strong. So brave. I’m going to hold back on the details until tonight, around 8 pm, but... tell Futaba I need her to compile all her recordings of you talking to ghosts, excising everything about the Phantom Thieves and Morgana.”

Ren gave her a funny look, but nodded all the same and turned to Futaba. As he recounted her wishes, Futaba’s eyes widened ever so slightly. He wondered why she was giving him a look of sympathy.

“... I think I get it.” She rubbed her nose and began wiping her glasses on her shirt. “Easily done; I’ll get to work, then I’ll take a nap so we’re ready.” She nodded at Ren. “You should make sure you’re rested, too.”

Ren frowned suspiciously. His eyes narrowed as he cocked his head to the side. “What’s going on...?”

Futaba stood up and moved to her computer chair. She pushed her glasses back on and nodded stiffly. “Just have faith in us, okay?”

Though Ren had a bad feeling, he sighed and nodded back. 

“... Okay.”


	19. Black Coffee

Ren had a terrible, nagging suspicion that Wakaba was going to ask him to confess his secret to Sojiro. She wasn’t around to ask as she stayed with Futaba, so the thought bounced around in his head all day. A few times, he tried to deny it, to come up with an alternative scenario, but nothing good came up. Worse, Morgana and the group chat agreed with his estimation of what would happen.

“Just relax,” Morgana said in an unsuccessful attempt to soothe his nerves, “Boss isn’t unreasonable. It’ll be okay.”

A few had offered to come help him when time came, but Ren declined the offers. This was something he decided he’d have to face himself— and Morgana was already there if absolutely needed. The cat seemed to take great pride in the role, too.

He tried to sleep, make infiltration tools, read— nothing got his mind off of what he thought to be his impending doom. At one point, Sojiro called him downstairs to help with washing some dishes. Ren avoided eye contact with him and did his job dutifully, then retreated right back upstairs. He hoped Boss didn’t notice how bewildered and anxious he was.

When night fell and the time finally came, he could feel his heart beating out of his chest as Wakaba broke the suspected news to him.

“I need to talk to Sojiro,” she said as calmly as she could, “because I think I need to settle things with him to move on. That’s going to necessitate telling him the truth.”

He couldn’t bring himself to respond. Morgana said something about how Ren had suspected and been anxious all day, to the dismay of Wakaba. She had hoped leaving him out of the loop until then would ease anxiety.

Futaba was already teary-eyed again, but she held up her phone and shook it with a weak smile. “I have all I need to show him in this if it comes to that.”

“How am I supposed to convince him of the truth?” Ren protested with a huff. “He strikes me as a skeptic. We’d need cold, hard evidence to convince him, and even then...” He sighed anxiously and looked away. “He might not want me around anymore after this.”

“He’s not that sort of man.” Wakaba reassured firmly. She reached out to him, patting his cheek. He shivered from the cold breezes and looked at the ghost. “Sojiro is a stubborn man, yes, but he would never kick you out. Not for something like this.” She sighed and crossed her arms. “I’m not going to lie to you. There’s a good chance he’ll be alarmed and weirded out, but he’ll get past it. Though this may be selfish of me... for my sake, please.”

Ren stared between her and Futaba. His mouth felt dry, and he bit his lip in thought. He closed his eyes, inhaled, and exhaled deeply before forcing a nod in spite of every other part of his body wanting to flee. “I’ll do it,” he breathed, “but is that all we have?”

Wakaba shook her head. “No. I have a plan on that front.” She leaned forward. “Sojiro and I used to get into silly little debates about everything. It was always friendly; one time, when Futaba was very little, we came to the subject of ghosts. I was pro; he was con. The man scoffed at the idea.” She smiled, reminiscing. “So we ended up making a code phrase that either of us would somehow communicate to the other if we died and ghosts existed. ‘Remember that black coffee saves you at midnight.’”

Ren blinked. “I’m sorry, what? What does that mean?”

“It’s half a memory and half a nonsense phrase,” Wakaba dismissed, “we watched bad spy movies together a lot and made fun of stupid signal words like that. It doesn’t have any real meaning beyond being a cheeky reference to a memory.” She sighed to herself and closed her eyes as she thought back. “The story was, I went into labor with Futaba near midnight. When I called Sojiro, who was just about to go to bed after a long shift, he promptly made and then chugged a whole mug of black coffee in one sitting before he left to meet me at the hospital. He said it was to make sure he was awake with me so I wouldn’t be alone. The phrase is also unique and specific enough to be proof beyond a doubt.” She tapped her chin. “It became something of a running inside joke between us, for years. You say it to him, and you’ve got him.”

“What’s she saying?” Futaba pressed. He turned to her and relayed the information; the girl put her hands together and smiled. “Ooh! A code phrase! That’ll do it!” At his unaltered face full of fear, she deflated and kicked the ground. “Still.” She looked up at him and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “Do you want me to come with you?”

Ren shook his head. “No. If the man gets upset, I want him to get upset with me, not with you too.” 

“I’ll go with him.” Morgana volunteered. He looked up and nodded at Ren. “No point in mulling it over any further. Let’s get this over with.”

The boy swallowed hard and nodded. His face was white and beads of sweat were visible on his forehead as he shivered in spite of the summer heat. He tucked his clammy hands into his pockets and trudged his way toward the stairs. Every step was counted as he could feel his heart beating, radiating all the way up to his throat.

Finally, his view of wooden steps came to an end as he stood on tile. Morgana followed closely after and looked up at him. His breath hitched as he took one step forward, then another—

“What’s gotten into you?”

Ren gasped sharply as his head snapped up to see Sojiro standing behind the counter, wiping off a ceramic cup and giving him a funny look. The boy tried to respond, but his mouth just silently opened and closed a few times. Sojiro quirked a brow at him. “You sick or something? Head back upstairs, then. Don’t get your germs down here.”

He shook his head. Sojiro huffed. “Then what’s wrong? If you have something to say, spit it out. Standing there looking like you just saw a ghost isn’t gonna help.”

The comment physically pained Ren as he grimaced and it drew a groan from Morgana. The cat huffed. “Might as well spit it out like he says. You’ll suffer less by getting it over with.”

Ren nodded, took a deep breath, and spoke.

“Um...” He cleared his throat and averted his gaze. “... ‘Remember... that black coffee saves you at midnight?’”

Sojiro froze. His eyes locked onto him with an intensity Ren had never seen before as his eyes cracked open hesitantly. The cup in his hand fell to the ground and shattered loudly, leaving a mess, but Sojiro didn’t acknowledge it. He just continued to stare speechlessly, wide-eyed and slack-jawed at Ren for what felt like an eternity.

When he was finally capable of speech again, he spoke very quietly, his voice shaking. “What did you just say?” 

The tone of voice reflected the calm before the storm; Ren could feel his gut lurch with dread and regret. At the boy’s silence, Sojiro narrowed his eyes; his knuckles whitened as he clenched a fist around the towel in his hands. He pounded a fist on the surface of the bar, which resulted in a resounding thud. “Damn it, repeat what you just said!”

“‘Remember that black coffee saves you at midnight.’” Ren spat out, almost too quickly to understand. Sojiro gasped softly; he was shaking as he stood up straight and stared, hard, at Ren. 

“Who told you that?” His voice wavered, but was intense all the same. Ren took a step backward, eyes widening as Sojiro stepped forward with narrowed eyes and a scowl. “Ren!”

“I— I—”

“I asked you a question! Who told you that?!”

Sheer panic filled him at Sojiro’s demanding tone. As Sojiro reached out to him, he bolted for the door, with Morgana following closely behind. The cat yowled as he chased after the boy, and the door slammed behind him, echoing through the cafe as the bell above the door jingled violently.

Sojiro grit his teeth and started heading for the door, but a cry from the stairway stopped him.

“Oh, no... Sojiro, what did you do?!”

Sojiro turned to see Futaba distraught, coming down the stairs as she glared at him. “Why did you yell at him?!”

“He—“ Sojiro sputtered. “He knew something that only—”

“—Only you and mom knew, right?”

Sojiro froze as Futaba stared at him, breathing in and out anxiously. The man breathed hard right back, until finally he croaked out a response.

“What the hell is going on?” he demanded. “How did you two know about that?”

“Because Mom told him!” 

Sojiro froze again, riddled with confusion. Futaba huffed and scowled defensively. “I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true! Ren can see ghosts!”

“Stop this nonsense!” Sojiro snapped. “Ghosts don’t exist!”

Futaba glared at him and shook her head. “It’s not nonsense! She’s been speaking to him for months! He knew things only she would!” Taking a breath, she held out her phone. She pushed at the screen. “I think you should have a listen to what I’ve been recording from him for the last few months.”

Futaba played back numerous conversations, mainly recorded talks between Ren and one of a few people: Wakaba, Yusuke, or Futaba herself. The audio had been cut to exclude anything involving Morgana or the Phantom Thieves, but it was still enough.

Buchi cop time. Mako-Mako. The discovery of the money hidden under the floorboard of the atelier.

The fact he knew about Wakaba well before Sojiro had mentioned either her or Futaba.

When she was done, Sojiro was speechless. She huffed at his dumbfounded expression. “Don’t you understand?! He’s the one who got me out of my room! The one who freed Yusuke’s mom and got him out of Madarame’s house! It’s all true!” She took a breath. “Then there’s what he told you... what more convincing do you need?!” 

At Sojiro’s continued silence and wide eyes, she stepped back and bit back a cry. “Sojiro... he has to be terrified right now! It’s late and I’m worried about him being out there, alone!”

“I’ll go get him.” Sojiro finally croaked. “Do you have any idea where he might have gone?”

Futaba pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked her texts. She nodded. “He says he’s in the laundromat... just remember to be gentle with him, alright? Should I go get him instead?”

Sojiro shook his head and ran a hand over his head. “No; I want him to see that I’m calm and not mad. And...” He sighed heavily. “I owe him an apology.”

* * *

Ren wasn’t quite sure why he went to the location he did, but he ran to the laundromat and crouched down against the wall inside. Morgana caught up to him as he was shakily steadying himself with shaken gasps for breath that drew deeper. 

“Ren?” Morgana started hesitantly. The boy groaned and shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut as he laid a hand on the side of his head.

“I’m pretty sure my Persona is the only reason I’m not in full-on panic right now.” he gasped. Morgana sighed and nodded.

“That’s one of the perks of being a Persona user. It’s a good thing you have that emotional clarity; I was worried you were gonna run to the train station or something in your panic.” The cat trotted forward and hopped into his lap. He purred and looked up at Ren. “Try to calm down. I think you just startled Boss so much that he freaked out.”

“But he...”

“Does Boss really seem like the sort of man to kick out a kid?” Morgana pressed. “He was all talk even in the beginning. Plus, he didn’t chase after you to keep yelling at you or anything— meaning he’s listening to what Futaba has right now.”

“Indeed he is.”

Ren gasped and looked up at Wakaba, who was peering down at him with a guilty frown. Morgana just followed his gaze. The spirit shook her head. “Futaba is showing him everything right now. He’s calming down; true to what Morgana suggested, he’s just a little startled. He won’t hurt you.”

“You sure?” he asked doubtfully. “Because he seemed pretty mad.”

“Oh, don’t mind him.” Wakaba waved a hand. “He tried to act all tough when he’s upset or confused. It’ll stop as soon as his nerves settle.” She gestured to the bathhouse door around the corner. “Why not go calm down in the bath? Text Futaba to let her know where you are and allow yourself to calm down as well. They’ll be awhile.”

“What’s she saying?” Morgana questioned. Ren looked down and shakily repeated what Wakaba said back. The cat nodded. “Yeah, do that. Baths always calm you down.” He looked up at the air. “You head back to Futaba. I’ve got this guy under control.”

The ghost disappeared. After a momentary pause, Ren stood up and texted Futaba. He headed into the bath house; as expected, the hot water soothed him to some extent. Ren was able to take a breather in the steamy, humid bathhouse air. While it didn’t completely erase his anxiety, it augmented the clarity granted by being a Persona user. 

He pulled himself out before he fainted from the steam (as he had done a shameful amount of times before) and toweled off. His hair was still damp as he returned to the laundromat and waited anxiously, staring down at his hands. He twiddled his thumbs idly. 

“It’s gonna be okay.” Morgana tried to reassure several times. “Just remember to breathe.”

Even so, Ren was left imagining every scenario under the sun. Anger, dismay, disbelief, disgust, and admittedly, the being kicked out scenario still resurfaced every now and again. He reminded himself that he had no idea what would truly happen, and that worrying about it wouldn’t help. The reminder barely helped as he leaned against the wall, staring down, thinking in silence.

He was so deep in thought that he didn’t notice Boss peeking around the corner into the laundromat. The man let out a sigh of relief, drawing Ren’s attention. As soon as he saw who it was, though, he jumped and pressed himself back against the wall.

“Boss.” he squeaked. The way he said it caused a pained expression to come onto Sojiro’s face, cutting off the wide-eyed stare he had come looking for him with. The man sighed heavily and stepped inside. In an instant, all Ren’s anxiety came back as he remembered the demanding yelling from earlier, as well as his parents’ own screams. Time and time again, screamed at by the adults. 

While he didn’t flee and was able to stand his ground with the power Arsene granted, he still winced and braced himself as Sojiro took a step forward. He turned his head away and shook as Sojiro kept coming closer. 

He stopped short as a gentle hand was laid upon his shoulder. His heart felt as though it momentarily stopped as he looked up to see Sojiro was frowning... guiltily?

“I’m sorry for yelling,” he murmured gently, “let’s go home, okay? You’re not in any trouble.”

Morgana smiled as Ren blinked a few times at Sojiro. It took him a second to respond, when he silently swallowed hard, nodded, and allowed the man to quietly escort him back to Leblanc.

* * *

As soon as they arrived back, Sojiro had him sit in a booth while he himself took several moments to compose himself before returning to his ward.

The man sat opposite of him and stared quietly while Morgana tucked himself next to Ren and purred. Futaba had been maintaining a silent vigil until they took their seats, at which point she hopped off her stool and pushed herself onto Ren’s bench and up against him. Ren briefly glanced up as he heard the clearing of a throat and saw Wakaba standing at the end of the table, her hands clasped. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

Sojiro cleared his throat, making Ren jump and look toward him. The man was hunched over, staring at him with twitching lips and a look of consternation. He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry again; that was a knee-jerk reaction you didn’t deserve. I didn’t mean to—“ He shook his head. “Oh, what did it matter? I damn near traumatized you. I’m sorry for reacting the way I did.” 

“It’s okay.” Ren muttered shyly, averting his gaze. “This isn’t my first time.”

Sojiro cocked his head at him and scratched the side of his head. “Just... what you said... I was the only one who knew that phrase. Myself and... one other person.” He paused, then he continued, his voice almost a whisper. “Do you know who I’m talking about?”

Ren hesitated. Morgana gently nudged his arm while Futaba squeezed his hand and looked up at him. “It’s okay, Ren.” she whispered as reassuringly as she could. Finally, he gulped. 

“... Wakaba Isshiki.” he whispered with a raw throat. He heard Sojiro curse to himself before rubbing his eyes and looking upon his ward with exhaustion.

“... Futaba told me about you. A lot about you.” Sojiro finally said quietly, though Ren still didn’t look up. “She said... she said you... and the fact you got her out...” He paused a moment before continuing with a shake of the head. He exhaled sharply. “Ren. I want you to look at me.”

The boy shivered. After several seconds of hesitation, the boy dutifully looked up at Sojiro. The man’s brows were furrowed with an intense stare that seemed as though he was trying to pierce his soul, and a frown that almost made Ren flinch. The boy met his eyes, pale as a ghost and baggy-eyed. His face was distinctly reminiscent of a deer in the headlights. The look made Sojiro’s expression soften, and finally, the man spoke.

“I want you to tell me honestly.” he said quietly but sternly. “Is this true? Can you, well...” He sounded uncomfortable as the next words came. “... Can you see ghosts?”

He said nothing for awhile. Finally, he sucked in a breath and nodded slowly. His next word was almost inaudible.

“Yes.” 

The silence that followed was suffocating as Sojiro stared at him for a long time. Ren averted his gaze as his guardian took a long, shuddering breath and sighed. Sojiro put a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes for a moment.

“Ren,” Wakaba addressed, making the boy jump and look up at her, “tell him I remember how he drank black coffee at midnight when I went into labor with Futaba, and how it became something of a running joke between the two of us, but only between us.” Wakaba looked at Sojiro, who had opened his eyes again and gave the teen a quizzical look, and back to Ren with a nod. “Go ahead and tell him everything I just said.”

Ren swallowed hard and repeated what Wakaba just said to a still-silent Sojiro. The man’s eyes widened further, and he gaped at his ward. Ren shuddered as he finished and looked down at Morgana; he could feel Futaba squeeze his hand reassuringly while the cat purred. He still flinched as he heard Sojiro curse under his breath. His voice cracked with the sound of held back tears as he sighed heavily and opened his eyes again. 

“... Ren.”

Reluctantly and slowly, Ren picked his eyes up. Sojiro was still stunned and wide-eyed, but... not disbelieving. He managed a small, sincere smile. Tears were in the corners of his eyes.

“I believe you.”

A weight on Ren’s shoulders had lifted without a trace. A dizzy smile came to his lips as he let out a relieved sigh and laughed dazedly. “You don’t think I’m crazy. Holy shit, you don’t think I’m crazy.”

“I told him as much as I could about you,” Futaba said proudly. “So he knew how long this had been going on. Well before he ever mentioned my mom or how she died or me. Then there’s the code phrase... we know you’re not crazy.”

Sojiro nodded. He looked shaken, but not upset, Ren noted. The man stared down at him with still stunned eyes and pursed lips. “I... normally, I’d call it bullshit, but... Futaba... and you, everything you did... Futaba wasn’t even able to leave her room for anyone for two years, and you came along and coaxed her out in a matter of weeks.” He shuddered. “We’ll get to that later.” His voice was hopeful. “Wakaba... is she...?”

“She’s here.” Ren confirmed. “She’s been standing at the end of the table the whole time.” 

“I want to talk to Sojiro.” Wakaba said bluntly. “I think that’s why I can’t move on. I need to give him closure, too.”

Ren turned back to Sojiro. “She says she wants to talk to you because she thinks that’s why she can’t move on yet.”

Sojiro gaped at him for what felt like an eternity. Wakaba put a hand in front of her mouth and giggled. “Oh, that’s just like him. Acts all gruff but gets teary-eyed and speechless as soon as he gets emotional. He did the same thing when Futaba was born.” She laughed. “That reminds me— one time he got all gruff with a man who wouldn’t give him coffee a few hours later while he was still waiting for me to give birth. Cracks me up every time to think about it. The way he bitched and moaned about it... but then acted like it didn’t really bother him...”

“What’s she saying, what’s she saying?” Futaba pressed. Ren repeated the statement verbatim, and Sojiro’s eyes only widened further. The boy swore he heard a muffled sob as Sojiro put a hand over his face.

“I remember that.” he started shakily. “It was real early— sun hadn’t even risen yet. The guy who was in charge of breakfast told me the shitty hospital coffee was only for guests.” He put a hand on his cheek, smiled, and shook his head. “Then I said I was with Wakaba, who was in labor, and I had been there since near midnight without any sleep, and the caffeine that was keeping me up was wearing off. Showed him my visitor badge and everything. He just gave me this look and still hesitated... I told her about it later and she just laughed at me.” 

Sojiro laughed weakly. “She told you about that, huh... right here and now...” His short laugh dissolved with a barely-muffled sob. “I... I need a minute.” he muttered shakily as he stood up. He stumbled away to the bathroom for awhile, and when he returned, his face was a touch red, and his eyes had softened. “So... what does Wakaba want to tell me?”

Wakaba was quiet a moment. She bowed her head and sniffled. “Tell him I’m sorry for dying so abruptly, but his suspicions are right; I didn’t commit suicide. I was murdered. I would have never committed suicide, especially not in front of my own daughter. The letter was forged, probably by you-know-who’s men.”

Ren repeated the information to Sojiro as though a burning curiosity rose up in him. The man’s eyes hardened. “I knew it...”

“Who is she referring to?” Ren asked. “Isshiki-san—“

“No.” she said flatly. “I don’t want any of you to try to confront them. You’ll die.”

“We’d die?” 

“What’d she say now?” Futaba pressed. Ren huffed and shrugged. 

“She said she won’t tell me who she’s referring to... because she doesn’t want us to try anything. Says we’d die.”

“She’s right.” Sojiro agreed grimly. “Much as it pains me... the bad guys are too strong. Far stronger than any of us; there is nothing we can do.” He blinked and tried looking up in the space Ren had been looking. “Err... Wakaba... I never got the chance to tell you this, but... I’m so sorry I didn’t take your comment about dying seriously. If I had just been a little more careful, a little more serious, maybe I could have...” He sighed heavily and shook his head. “I don’t know, done something.”

Wakaba shook her head right back. “No, Sojiro, there was nothing you could do. You know that once a person is marked by whoever their killer is that there’s nothing that can be done at present to stop them. I don’t blame you, and I’m so happy you took my daughter in.” She picked her head up. Sheer rage, not unlike that of the Sphinx’s glare, crossed her eyes. “Please... never let any of my old family members see her ever again, especially my brother. I will never forgive them for what they did to her.”

Ren translated. Sojiro bit back a sob. “I— I know, but still...” He let out a shuddering breath. “... and yes. I promise Futaba’s so-called family won’t touch her ever again. Not even if my life depended on it.”

Wakaba looked down at herself. She held her hands out, looking about herself. The woman closed her eyes for a moment and frowned.

“I still can’t move on,” she griped, “I don’t know what’s...” She groaned and scratched the side of her head. “I’ll think about why for awhile. Sorry to put you in this position, Ren; I was so sure this would do the trick.”

Ren sighed wearily but nodded. “No need to apologize.” He turned to the Sakuras. “She... she still isn’t moving on. Talking to you apparently wasn’t her only piece of unfinished business left...”

Futaba’s face lit up while Sojiro made an odd expression and stammered for a moment. Finally, his guardian cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck. “Oh, dear. Well...” He crossed his arms. “Truth be told... I’m glad you’re sticking around for awhile, Wakaba. I’m sure you’ll come to terms with whatever’s keeping you here eventually, but until then, you’re with us.”

“Yeah!” Futaba said excitedly, beaming. “You don’t have to ever move on! Stay with us! Ren can stay, too, and translate!”

Sojiro sighed and put a hand on the back of his neck. “I feel the same way, but... I know we’re being selfish by wanting that.” He smiled at Ren. The boy felt his heart jump at the smile. “We’ll figure that all out later. I know you were scared shitless, Ren, but... even if this didn’t fix her problem, I can’t put into words how much it means to me to be able to talk to her again, even if for only a little while.”

Wakaba smiled and sniffled, rubbing at an eye. “... Guess I’ll be stuck here a little longer.” She looked over at Futaba and shook her head. “Tell Futaba I said she should go to bed. She needs to rest.”

Ren turned to Futaba and repeated what she said. The girl pouted. “But Mooom... I’m a night owl! I don’t need sleep!”

“Listen to your mother.” Sojiro scolded with a wry smile. Futaba groaned and threw her hands on the table.

“Fiiine... good night.”

Wakaba giggled. “I’ll go with her to keep an eye on her.”

Ren repeated it, and Futaba skipped off happily, followed by her mother. Sojiro laughed tiredly and rubbed a hand over his chin. “Geez... that sends me way back.” He turned to his ward, whose eyes were dark and baggy. He grimaced. “You should get some sleep, too. You look like shit.”

* * *

Morgana was already asleep as Ren sat on his bed, hugging his knees as he stared down at the sheets quietly. He mentally reviewed everything that had happened that day. 

Sojiro really knew. 

The team had celebrated in the group chat and he fielded calls from each of them checking on him and praising him for his bravery. Still, he felt weird about it, and wasn’t sure how to react.

Right as he was preparing to go to sleep at last, he heard footsteps and looked up to see a wide-awake Sojiro entering his room. He waved halfheartedly. “Oh, Boss. Something wrong?”

Sojiro shook his head. “No, it’s nothing like that, but...” He paused. “Can I sit?”

Ren nodded slowly. The man approached the bed, and Morgana yawned as he woke up and peered up at him. The boy couldn’t understand Sojiro’s expression as he sat at the foot of his bed. He looked down, briefly, before looking at his still-bewildered ward.

“You’re not in trouble or anything.” he reassured quietly. “Still... I feel like we need to have a talk one-on-one.”

“Okay.” Ren muttered coyly. The man scratched the back of his neck. He put a hand on his chin and crossed his legs. 

“I need to thank you.”

“Thank me?”

The man nodded. “You’re the one who saved Futaba. Saved Wakaba, who had to watch her for the last two years. And you’re the one who let us communicate with her.” He put a hand on Ren’s shoulder. “I’ll never be able to thank you enough. This isn’t like me, but...” He paused and smiled at him. “You really do have a gift, you know. I never would have imagined that Wakaba... was still around, and keeping an eye on us...”

Ren shrugged sheepishly. “Huh. I always called it a curse. Maybe I’m just being selfish... I’m glad I have it if it means I could help, but...”

“It’s caused you a lot of grief.” Sojiro surmised as he pulled his hand away. Ren exhaled sharply and nodded.

“... Yeah.” he confirmed, looking down. “You know how I got arrested for stepping in when a guy was trying to abduct a woman? Well...” He huffed. “The woman apparently has a dead sister, because this ghost lady got my attention and begged me to save her sister.”

“Which is how you got here.” Sojiro muttered. Ren bit his lip.

“... I don’t regret it. I don’t, but...”

“It still hurts.” his guardian murmured. He sighed deeply. “That’s understandable, and I can imagine you’ve had a lot of other unfortunate experiences, based on how freaked out you were when I got angry.”

“Yeah.” Ren muttered. “That’s... accurate.”

Sojiro smiled softly. “Well... from now on, you have us to help you. I know you probably were doing your damndest to keep this a secret from me, but...” He looked away briefly before turning back to him with an uncomfortable look in his eyes. “... This isn’t something I’d normally say, but... maybe you were meant to be here.”

Ren smiled coyly. “Thank you, Sakura-san.”

Sojiro chuckled and ruffled his hair. “We should be thanking you, kid. We’re going to help you.” His smile faded and was replaced with a conflicted frown. “So, the other thing— we need to really talk about how we’re going to manage this. How many people know, aside from your friends and us? Do your parents know?”

Ren looked pained as he shook his head. “No one outside of you, my friends, and a fortune teller lady that can do what I do. As for my parents...” He looked away and hung his head. “They don’t believe me, and they got mad— really mad— whenever I tried to tell them, even with proof.” 

“Oh.” He paused. “How did the others find out? Aside from Yusuke, I mean.”

Ren shrugged. “They got suspicious when I kept ‘predicting’ uncannily accurate information. Then in Makoto’s case... well, you know about what I had to do with Yusuke. Makoto’s father is still following her around.”

“... Right. Okay.” He cleared his throat, and rolled his shoulder. “I’m not saying this because there’s anything wrong with you—there’s not—but you’re right to be as cautious as you have been about telling people.” 

Ren swallowed hard and nodded. “I know.”

“I know that you know, but... it needs to be said.” He met his eyes and frowned worriedly. His eyes were stern, as was his tone of voice. “Keep this quiet. You shouldn’t tell anyone who doesn’t need— and I mean, really need— to know. A lot of people fear what they don’t understand.” He sighed wearily. “You need to remember that very clearly, for your sake. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“I know.” Ren shook his head and huffed. “All too well...”

Sojiro nodded. “Good. So... here’s the deal.” He put a hand to his chin. “Whenever you see a ghost, I want you to come to me first and tell me about it. We can figure out together how to move forward from there, but I don’t want you handling this on your own.” He met his eyes. “You understand?”

Ren nodded and smiled weakly. “I do; thanks, Sakura-san.” He sighed and tightened his grip around his knees. “Really, just... thank you. For not hating me or screaming at me or worse.”

Sojiro frowned. His eyebrows knit together, as if he was angry; Ren instinctively flinched, and the man’s expression softened. “I’m not mad at you at all. I’m just...” He huffed. “... What did your parents do to you?” Ren went silent and looked down. Sojiro leaned back. “If you don’t want to talk about it...”

“No, it’s okay.” Ren swallowed hard. “I don’t really want to get into the fine details of everything my parents did to me, but I’ll tell you this. After my grandpa died when I was very young, he told me to tell them something they as well as he apparently only knew. I can’t even remember exactly what it was, but whatever it was, when I told them, they lost it. They started screaming at me that I was just seeking attention.”

Sojiro winced. “How old exactly were you?”

“Dunno. Three- or four-ish.”

The man’s expression hardened again in an instant, his eyes thunderous and angry. “They screamed at a toddler over that?! Did you ever mention—“

“I just said something along the lines of ‘grandpa told me to tell you this.’” Ren elaborated. He sucked in a breath and shuddered, holding back tears. “That permanently put a barrier between us. Whenever they caught me talking to someone who wasn’t there— even if I wasn’t even aware I was the only one who could see them— they would scream at me. They’d cry and ask why I couldn’t be normal.”

Sojiro looked pained as Ren’s voice cracked. “I don’t wanna get into the specifics, but they... tried a lot of stuff to fix it, even pseudoscientific bullshit when they got desperate enough.” Ren took a deep breath. After a moment of silence, he buried his head in his knees. “... Sorry, Boss. Didn’t mean to ramble.”

Sojiro shook his head. “You weren’t rambling, and you don’t have to apologize for anything. I’m sorry you went through all of that, and that your parents can’t come to terms with their kid being different. It’s about their issues coping, not yours.” He smiled reassuringly. “Just  know that you never have to be afraid of any of that ever again under my roof. I’m a little freaked out still, but I’ll adjust. I want you to feel safe here.”

Ren gave him a small smile. “Thanks, Boss.”

Sojiro smiled tiredly. “It’s my responsibility to look after my kids and make sure they’re safe. Now, get some sleep; we have even more business to discuss tomorrow.” He paused. “Do you mind asking if your friends mind coming in the morning? Breakfast will be on me; I need to speak to all of them.”

The boy bowed his head. “I’ll ask them. And thanks again.”

Sojiro shook his head and stood up. “You don’t need to keep thanking me.” He put a hand on his hip. “Anyways, as I said earlier, get some sleep— you really do look like shit.”


	20. Family Man

Sojiro couldn’t sleep. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how much he tossed and turned in bed— slumber wouldn’t come. He tried to sleep fitfully for a few hours before finally waking up at an ungodly hour of the night to stare listlessly at the ceiling of his room in the dark. His mind cycled through several thoughts that wouldn’t quite sink in.

_ Ren can see and hear Wakaba. _

_ Ren can see ghosts. _

_ Ghosts are real. _

_ Wakaba is back. _

_ Holy shit, the kid can really see ghosts. _

_ What do I do about him and his parents? _

Sighing, Sojiro rolled over on his side again and grumbled as he tried to squeeze his eyes shut. He kept flashing back to Ren’s terrified face in the cafe and felt repeated pangs of guilt, followed by concern. 

He didn’t want to give him back to his parents. Not when they denied their son’s gift and shamed him for it. Plus, Wakaba was back for he didn’t know how long. He couldn’t— _couldn’t_ — lose the only way of communicating with her. He wondered if he was selfish for wanting him to stay for that reason.

“What do I do, Wakaba?” the man whispered. “Why is life so damn complicated?”

A moment later, he felt a cold breeze on top of his head. Sojiro blinked and rolled onto his back to peer at the window above his bed— locked, and he wasn’t close enough to the AC unit to feel a breeze.

He sighed heavily and rolled back over on his side. Tears filled to the side of his eyes. “T— Thanks... I’m sorry for whining. I’m not the one who can only be seen and heard by the kid, I’m not the one who has to deal with being the only person who can see ghosts, and I’m not the one who was cooped up in a room for two years.” He groaned. “I don’t really have a reason to complain, do I?”

There was a pause. The man rubbed at his nose and grumbled. “I don’t know why I’m wondering any of this now... not like I’m going to be solving this all now. Maybe I just have to take this one step at a time, huh?”

The breeze came back, this time on his forehead. A kiss, almost, he thought. He laughed tiredly and smiled weakly. “Thanks for your vote of confidence. I’ll try to get back to sleep... but I’ll be damned if I don’t find a way to keep Ren here.”

* * *

Ren was still half asleep as he trudged downstairs. The sun was bright, shining, and too damn hot as he sat on a stool for Sojiro to serve him breakfast. Morgana hopped to his food bowl, leaving Ren to drowsily reach for the cup of coffee put in front of him. 

“Good morning.” he heard Wakaba from his right. He grunted.

“Morning... lemme finish drinking my city boy juice...”

“Beg pardon?”

Sojiro chuckled and shook his head. “I’m assuming you’re there and have no idea what he means, so I’ll explain. The kid’s from the countryside and his accent can get kind of twangy if he’s confused or tired.” He laughed and put a hand on his chin. “He sometimes calls the morning coffee ‘city boy juice’ because he says it wakes him up enough to talk normally. As much as he can, anyways. You’ve heard his accent, even if he tries to muffle it. Cracks me up.”

“Mhm.” Ren agreed as he took another sip, his eyes closed. “Can’t go embarrassing myself...”

Wakaba giggled. A pause fell and she cleared her throat. “When you’re, ah, done with your ‘city boy juice’, tell Sojiro I though we had a nice talk last night.”

The boy sleepily looked up at Sojiro. “Wakaba says she thinks you guys had a nice talk last night.”

Sojiro stiffened and gaped down at the boy as he looked back down into his food and began eating. After a moment, the man shook his head and nodded with an odd look. “R—Right. I’m... glad to hear that.”

A silence fell as Sojiro averted his gaze away from Ren. The boy felt a pang of shame and embarrassment, but he silently looked down at his plate and ate. Wakaba sighed, irritated. “Oh, Sojiro, get over it. You’re making the boy uncomfortable.”

Ren cringed, grateful Boss couldn’t hear her. Nevertheless, Sojiro shook himself out of it and felt guilt as he noticed how uncomfortable the kid was. He sighed and put a hand on his forehead. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable; I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t still sort of freaked out by this, but that’s on me, not you.” He shook his head and frowned sympathetically. “You’ve had to deal with this enough as it is. I’ll adjust, in time, and you’re welcome to call me out on it when I get weird about it.”

Ren looked up and smiled shyly. “Thanks, Boss, but I don’t hold it against you. I know I’m... really weird, and you seem like you’re a skeptic, so I can only imagine learning all this and having me here is weirding you out.” He shook his head. “To be frank, I’m also weirded out. You were the last person I imagined I’d, er... come out to.”

Sojiro snorted and smiled wryly. “Yeah, you’re a weird kid, but you’re my— our weird kid.” He scratched the back of his neck. “I’ll make sense of it and get used to it all eventually.” 

The bell above the door jingled. Both men turned to see Futaba, hair a mess as she lifted her glasses up to rub at her eyes. Eyes still closed, she marched up to the counter and moaned.

“Coffee?” she drowsily requested. Sojiro nodded.

“I’m on it.”

She mumbled into her arms as she leaned on the counter. “Sojirooo... why are we doing this meeting? Everyone already knows he sees dead people...”

Sojiro put a cup toward in front of her with a clink. The girl picked her head and reached for the cup. She was sipping as Sojiro put a hand to the back of his neck. “That’s exactly why we’re doing this. I need to make some ground rules clear.”

Ren yawned and set aside his cup. “Thanks for the coffee, Boss.”

“Don’t you mean city boy juice?” Wakaba and Futaba asked in unison. The woman laughed as Ren shook his head at Futaba. 

“Your mom made the same joke at the same time as you.”

Sojiro chuckled and put a hand on his chin. “Like mother, like daughter.” The man cleared his throat. “Just, uh... don’t go saying what he calls it in front of customers, okay?”

Ren cocked his head to the side. “Can I call it hot bean juice in front of customers?”

The man’s nose wrinkled. “No.”

“He’s right,” Futaba giggled, “‘cuz they aren’t beans. They’re fruit seeds, technically. It’s hot fruit juice, not hot bean juice.”

“No, it’s hot seed juice.” Ren corrected. Futaba groaned.

“Don’t call it that!”

Ren lifted the cup to his lips and sipped. “Mmm, hot seed juice!”

Futaba stuck her tongue out at him. He stuck his tongue out right back. Boss rolled his eyes.

“Oh my God.” Sojiro groaned. He sighed and shook his head. “Wakaba, where do these kids get it? I didn’t raise them like this.”

“You didn’t raise us at all.” the two chorused. Wakaba just shrugged and giggled. 

“I don’t know, Sojiro, maybe it’s because someone is an enabler.” She turned to Ren. “Go ahead and tell him.”

Ren frowned and shook his head. “I’m not calling him that!”

Sojiro put a hand on his hip. “Just spit it out, kid. I’m not going to shoot the messenger.”

Ren stared warily at him before reluctantly relaying the information. Sojiro winced and scratched the back of his neck. “Jeez... fine. Call me out like that, why don’t you...” He cast an affectionate look towards his kids. “Can you blame me?”

As the room erupted into giggles, Sojiro couldn’t help but think to himself that this was what he wished it would be like permanently.

* * *

The others trickled in one by one, all drawn by the promise of breakfast and concern for their friend. Yusuke in particular was ravenous as he tore into his plate of curry and exceedingly grateful. Ren moved to sit beside Makoto, who blushed a bit and smiled at him, and he at her. From where Wakaba was silently observing, he heard a giggle and an “aww.” It made him go even redder than his girlfriend. He swore out of the corner of his eye he caught a smirk on Sojiro’s face in his direction.

When everyone was done eating, Sojiro chose to call the meeting to order.

“Look,” he started after a moment’s hesitation, “I appreciate you all being so accepting and willing to help Ren. Your support is great, and I’m glad he finally has that support.” 

“I’m sensing a ‘but’ here.” Ryuji muttered. Ann shoved his arm and hissed.

“Quiet, Ryuji!”

Sojiro stared at him for a moment before exhaling tiredly. “... Yeah. I had this talk with him last night, and I think I need to have it with all of you, too. Let me get to the point: your support is great, but you have to remember that Ren’s... gift... cannot leave this room.” He crossed his arms. “The world isn’t kind to those who are different. He’s right to be as secretive as he is— we all need to keep this to ourselves, for his sake.”

Ryuji frowned while Ren kept his gaze on the tabletop. “Is he in that much danger?”

“He could be.” Sojiro said sternly. “Even if it was proven, he could be met with ridicule, hate, and even violence, if the wrong person found out.” He approached Ren and patted his shoulder. Ren looked up tiredly at Sojiro, who frowned sympathetically. “I’m not saying any of this just to scare you, kid, but I’m worried about you.”

“Is this really for the best, though?” Ann questioned, frowning. Sojiro nodded.

“Yes; he should have people he can talk to about this, who can help him, but the wider society doesn’t need to be involved.” he said firmly. “We’ll be his support; that will have to be enough.” 

“He’ll most likely need to tell someone eventually, though.” Yusuke piped up. “If he hadn’t for me... my mother may have never known peace. There will almost certainly be another case where a spirit needs his help to communicate in the future.” Yusuke leaned forward, an intense look in his eyes. “I don’t mean to insult or offend, Sakura-san, but was he mistaken in his actions helping my mother and I?”

Sojiro looked pained as he put a hand on his chin and looked down. His hand still on his hand clutched the side of his apron tightly. “... No. He wasn’t. But he did get to know you before he did it.” 

“Why don’t we ask how Ren feels about this?” Makoto piped up. Eyes fell on him as he looked up, pale and exhausted. He was silent for several moments before exhaling sharply.

“... You’re both right.” he said hesitantly at last. “Sakura-san is right in that I should keep this under wraps from as many people as possible. I’m not going to go out of my way to expose myself or tell anyone.” He looked at Yusuke, Makoto, and Futaba, and nodded. “But I acknowledge there’s going to be times where I’m going to have to fess up— for the sake of others.” He turned to an apprehensive Sojiro. “That can’t be denied. Wherever I can, I will help spirits in a silent manner and remain anonymous. But when I can’t...” He turned to his team and smiled. They smiled back.

“We’ll help him.” Futaba said seriously. “I’ll make sure no one is spying or anything on him, and the others can be backup. We’ll gather proof and anything else we need before we move forward.”

Sojiro was silent for what felt like a long time before he heaved a sigh and nodded. “... Just make sure you keep me in the loop, alright?” he pleaded quietly. “And just... be careful.”

“I will.” Ren promised. Sojiro nodded and looked over the room.

“Anyone else have any concerns before we call this to a close?”

Futaba raised her hand. Sojiro nodded at her, and she put her hand down. She turned her gaze on Ren. 

“Do you have any sources of information on seeing ghosts? Just, anything at all? I’m trying to learn as much as I can about it, but...” She sighed. “All I can find is a lot of conflicting information no matter how hard I look online.”

Makoto sighed and crossed her arms. “That’s not surprising. I can’t imagine there’s many people who can do this, and those that can actually do so might be keeping quiet like Ren is.”

“I haven’t done much research on it, either.” Ren said with a shrug. “I only just stopped running from it all, and my parents certainly weren’t raring to help.”

Morgana sat up on the stool he had been lounging on, his ears erect. “What about that fortune teller lady you met in Shinjuku? She might know something.”

Ren’s eyes widened. He cast a look over at an oblivious Sojiro and spoke to the room. “Say... I might actually have a source. That fortune teller lady I’ve mentioned who can also do this might know something. She seemed a lot more informed than I did.”

“Why don’t you contact her?” Sojiro suggested. “Let her know your guardian found out and wants information. It’d help to learn anything we can about this.”

Ren dug his phone out of his pocket and began texting a message. As he did so, Makoto looked at her phone and back up to Sojiro.

“Was that all you wanted to discuss for now, Sakura-san?”

Sojiro nodded. “That’s all for now. Thanks for coming so early, all of you.”

“We were planning on coming early anyways,” Ann explained, leaning back in the seat, “because we’re planning to take Futaba swimsuit shopping before it gets too crowded. She’ll need one for the beach next week.”

Futaba looked down at her shoes nervously as Sojiro blinked at her, wide eyed. “You’re really going to the beach, huh... you sure you’ll be okay?”

In spite of her nervous twitching, Futaba looked up at Sojiro and nodded firmly. An intense look was in her eyes. “I... I can do this!” she declared. Sojiro bit his lip and put a hand on his hip.

“Wakaba, what do you think?” he asked. Ren’s eyes flew to the ghost, who was smiling proudly, tearfully, at her daughter. The woman nodded.

“Let her go, Sojiro. You can’t keep her sheltered forever, and I trust that Ren will take his responsibility to keep an eye on her seriously.” She met Ren’s eyes with a startling intensity. “You understand?”

“Yes, ma’am.” he said, gulping. He turned to Sojiro and repeated all that was said. Sojiro was smiling wryly for some reason as Ren shuddered. “The look she gave me at the end was scary.”

Sojiro snorted and laughed. “Alright; message heard loud and clear. She must have given you the ‘scare stare.’” He shook his head and sighed nostalgically as he put a hand on his goatee. “She did that to us whenever we interrupted her during work or she really wanted us to pay attention. Congratulations, kid, you’ve been inducted into the club.”

“One of us, one of us!” Futaba chanted gleefully. Wakaba rolled her eyes, but was smiling all the same.

* * *

The girls had left to go shopping and the boys had gone out to the arcade in Kichijoji, with the plan to reconvene at noon. 

The cafe was quiet as Sojiro washed off dishes, his mind drifted back to the shenanigans of the morning. Ren and Futaba’s playful bickering, Wakaba’s facetious annoyance, the kids all standing up for their friend, the way Ren and that prosecutor’s sister seemed to be close...

Futaba was out shopping. For a swimsuit. To go to a very crowded beach in broad daylight.

That alone made Sojiro’s head spin more than the ghost business. He just felt happy to have an explanation for the kid’s formerly odd quirks and behavior, and grateful to speak to Wakaba. It was Futaba that threw him for a loop.

“Even if he had been able to tell her the truth,” Sojiro mused to himself under his breath, “how in the hell did he still get her out of her room so fast? Even knowing all that, trauma like that doesn’t just... disappear.”

He didn’t doubt Ren’s ability; he was fully convinced of it as he thought back to all the stunning secrets the boy had uncovered flawlessly. There was no other explanation... but Futaba was still a mystery to him.

_ “... Back to our coverage of the Phantom Thieves.” _

Sojiro wiped his hands on a towel as he stood back from the sink and stared up at the TV, where a news anchor was speaking beside a picture of the Phantom Thieves’ logo. He wasn’t quite sure why it drew his attention so much— it didn’t normally.

_ “The Phantom Thieves have been surged in popularity following the defeat of Medjed. Public opinion polls show that over 70% of the public approves o f their actions, and this number is slowly rising since Junya Kaneshiro’s apparent change of heart and other activities. Moreover...” _

Sojiro’s brows lifted slightly. _Change of heart..._ the term reminded him of Wakaba’s cognitive psience studies. While he barely understood it, he grasped the basic concept of people having cognitive worlds and other selves or something... that was about it. Briefly, he mentally reviewed the facts of changes of heart: abrupt, sharp change in behavior, practically to the opposite of who the target was before.

While he couldn’t rightfully say Futaba was the opposite of what she was before... her sudden change and willingness to leave her room reminded him of the changes of heart. 

For a moment, his eyes widened as he wondered if Futaba had undergone such a thing, if the kid was hiding more than just his weird power to talk to ghosts, but just as quickly, he closed his eyes and shook his head. Impossible, he told himself. There was no way. It had to be from Ren’s speaking to her mother with very strong results, that’s all.

The man jerked as his phone buzzed, and he checked his messages. 

_**Ren:** Mifune-san said she has time today before work to come talk to us around noon; the girls say they’ll just try on swimsuits once our chat with her is done. _

_**Ren:** Does today work? She mostly works at night, so other times aren’t convenient. _

Sojiro texted back his affirmation. The man sighed, tucked his phone in his pocket, and picked up a newspaper he had left out. The man seated himself on a stool with a huff as he opened the paper, trying to distract himself from an overactive mind.

It didn’t work, but he tried anyways.


	21. Killing the Moment

The time was drawing near for the kids return, and the visitor to arrive. As Sojiro cleaned to distract himself, he still found himself wondering what the visitor would be like. He wondered what sort of person Ren had managed to run into— another person who saw dead people, of all things. 

Wakaba sat on a booth seat and watched, unimpressed, as Sojiro was wiping down another cup for the umpteenth time. She shook her head. “That cup’s not going to get any cleaner, you know.” she said wryly, in spite of the fact he couldn’t hear her. She looked at the man fondly and sighed nostalgically. “That’s just like you. You always clean compulsively when you’re stressed or worried. Or smoke.”

Sojiro put the cup down and reached for another as he squinted at it for defects. Wakaba rolled her eyes and looked to the door as she heard the bell jingling. Sojiro snapped to attention at the entrant.

She was a young woman, no older than her mid-twenties, Wakaba guessed. Long golden blonde hair fell alongside a pink sundress that ripped as she moved. Her curious purple eyes landed right on Wakaba, then to a wide-eyed Sojiro.

“Excuse me,” the woman started cheerfully, “are you Sakura-san?”

Sojiro nodded and smiled, with a brief bow. “That’s me. Thank you for coming; sorry that the kid isn’t here yet, but they should be back any minute.”

“Oh, it’s no problem.” The woman turned her attention directly to Wakaba, who smiled and waved. Chihaya walked around the corner and bowed to the ghost. “And you must be Isshiki-san, right?”

“That’s correct. It’s a pleasure, Mifune-san.” Wakaba greeted, standing up and bowing as well. Chihaya rose up and nodded cheerfully.

“It’s a pleasure to be here, really. The fact that I can help a teen who’s like me is enough for me.” 

Sojiro stared at her a moment, scratching the back of his neck as the corner of his lips twitched. “So, um... hm. Would you like something? It’ll be on the house.”

“Really? Thank you! I’d love that.” Chihaya took her seat at the bar and put her hands in her lap. She looked up at the menu, squinted a bit, and looked back at Sojiro. “Would iced coffee be okay?”

Sojiro grinned. “Coming right up. I’ve been serving a lot of those because of this weather.”

“Thank you.” she sat quietly as Sojiro walked off to prepare the drink. She looked down quietly at her hands for several moments, eyes half-lidded in thought. 

“Is everything alright?”

Chihaya jumped and looked up at Wakaba, who was staring at her curiously. The woman quickly nodded. “Oh, yes, I’m fine, thank you. I’m just lost in thought.” As Sojiro approached with her drink, she smiled. “Thank you again, Sakura-san.”

“Thank you.” he said with a gentle smile, “I just appreciate you taking the time and effort to come today.”

Chihaya blinked, mouth opening a bit in mild surprise. “Wow. This is more hospitality than I’m used to.” She shrugged. “I... also wanted to thank you, personally— not just for the coffee.”

Sojiro lifted a brow. “Thank me? What for?”

“For being accepting of your practically adopted child.” Chihaya said bluntly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “While the ability to see ghosts commonly runs in families, it’s still hard to deal with, and when it arises idiopathically, it’s really hard on us, especially as children. You’ve seen how Amamiya-kun acts due to his biological parents’ actions.” She sighed heavily. “... His experience is, unfortunately, not uncommon. I would know. People like us don’t typically have easy lives.” The woman shook herself and beamed, though there was fatigue behind her eyes. “So by being this accepting and trying to learn what you can to help him— that alone will have a massive positive effect on him, his power, and his future. It gives me hope.”

Sojiro was silent a moment before chuckling and smiling bashfully, a hand on his chin. “That’s my job as his guardian, and I owe him thanks for what he did for my daughter and her mother— Wakaba there, as I understand you’ve made the acquaintance of.” He shrugged. “I can’t claim I understand any of this. I probably won’t understand even when it’s explained, but...” Sojiro put a hand on his hip and nodded. “I’ll help the kid like he’s helped all of us. I can’t even imagine how difficult it must have been for him to have to deal with seeing people no one else can... and had no one to confide in about it until now. Christ.”

Chihaya looked like she was about to say something when the bell above the door jingled. Both turned to see the girls enter, carrying shopping bags and chattering, though they stopped at the sight of Chihaya. Futaba almost immediately shoved herself behind Makoto, who sighed wearily.

“Sorry about this... would you happen to be Mifune-san?” she questioned. Chihaya nodded.

“That’s me. I take it you’re some of his friends?”

“That’s right!” Ann said cheerfully, beaming. “It’s so nice to meet you! It’s good to know there’s someone else like him that can help.”

Futaba stepped out from behind Makoto and waved sheepishly. “Sorry... I’m Futaba.”

“My daughter.” Wakaba said lovingly. Chihaya giggled.

“Isshiki-san’s daughter, right?” Futaba bobbed her head. “It’s good to meet you.”

“Why don’t you all have a seat and I’ll get you something to drink?” Sojiro said. “The boys should be back soon.”

The bell above the door rang. The girls stepped to the side as the boys came in, Yusuke and Ryuji trailing after Ren, who had Morgana propped up on his shoulder. He smiled welcomingly. “There you are, Mifune-san. Thanks for taking the time to come today.”

Chihaya waved a hand dismissively. “Really, I’m happy to have this opportunity. I don’t really have many others to talk about this with either, so I’m more than happy to educate your friends. You don’t even know how lucky you are to have this many people at your side.”

Yusuke shook his head. “After what he did for my mother and I, and the Sakuras and Isshiki-san, we would be fools to doubt him.”

“For real.” Ryuji agreed proudly. He clapped a hand on the shoulder of an increasingly red-faced Ren. “This guy’s amazin’!”

Sojiro jerked a thumb towards the booths. “Why don’t you all get settled?” He turned to Ren. “As for you, wash your hands and throw on an apron. Help me get drinks to everyone.”

* * *

It didn’t take long for everyone to get settled and served. Ren and Sojiro worked quickly together, and finally, Boss turned the boy loose to take a seat as well. Sojiro smiled wryly as he caught Makoto make eye contact with him and he with her as he made a beeline to her side. 

“So, let’s get started.” Chihaya clasped her hands together. “What are your questions?”

“How about the basics?” Makoto suggested. “Is there a proper name for people like you two?”

Chihaya shrugged. “Not really a single proper name. There’s quite a few different names referring to the same thing— ghost whisperer, medium, speaker, clairvoyant, ghost seer, among others.” She giggled. “Amamiya-kun has even told me one of you came up with a new one— ‘dead guy whisperer.’”

Chuckles came. Ryuji raised a hand next. “I got one. How many of you guys are there? Is being a dead guy whisperer rare?”

“Very.” Chihaya confirmed bluntly. “There’s an estimated one to two thousand in Tokyo, with unknown numbers—probably not breaking the million mark worldwide. Then again, it’s very hard, if not downright impossible, to get a grasp on the true numbers, given the amount who go undiscovered by other ghost seers. None of us knew of Ren until he came to Tokyo, after all, and I, too, was the lone seer in a very small village growing up. There could be many more who are uncounted.”

“Still...” Futaba shook her head. “One to two thousand out of... 38 million people in Tokyo.” She held her right thumb and index finger close together, almost touching. “That’s a tiny amount.”

Ann nodded, wide-eyed. “Talk about one in a million...”

“A bit more than that, but it’s a low number no matter how we look at it.” Makoto remarked with a shake of the head. “Let’s suppose there’s about a million in the world, give or take. There’s 7 billion people worldwide.”

“So... rare.” Morgana remarked bluntly. “Very rare. We really do have someone special as our leader.”

Sojiro chuckled and reached down to pat Morgana’s head, drawing a short meow of protest. “Sounds like even he agrees. Sometimes, the way he meows, it sounds like he’s trying to take part in the conversation.”

The others shared a look, Wakaba included. Chihaya and Sojiro shared a baffled look before shaking their heads and shrugging it off. “Anyways...” Chihaya piped up, snapping them back to attention. Futaba raised a hand.

“I got one.” 

“By all means.”

Futaba hung over the back of the booth seat and propped her head up with her elbows. “Is there some way that any spirit could stay until their loved ones are also dead? I...” She sighed and shook her head. “I know I’m being selfish, but... don’t some stay until their loved ones are with them?”

“Futaba...” Sojiro murmured, pained. Wakaba sighed heavily, drawing similarly pained looks from both Ren and Chihaya. 

“Oh, Futaba...” her mother sighed.

Chihaya didn’t respond right away. She looked down, took a breath, and picked her head back up. “Only if a spirit’s problems are not resolved within all their loved one’s lifetimes. Often beyond then, leaving them alone on Earth, if they can’t let whatever’s bothering them go. It’s very sad, and often it ends with them only very reluctantly moving on perhaps hundreds of years later when they can finally truly let it go, depending on the severity of the problem. It’s a very cruel fate.”

Futaba sniffled and shook her head. “... I can’t do that to mom. I can’t...”

Sojiro’s eyes darkened as he looked down in concern. Wakaba frowned. “Hey... if for some reason what my final issue is can’t be resolved, I’ll... let it go, somehow, no matter how much it pains me to do so.”

“That’s a very reassuring response, Isshiki-san.” Chihaya said with an encouraging nod. “While sometimes saying you’re letting it go is enough... having the will to do so is a step in the right direction. Many ghosts refuse outright, but sometimes... there are things we just have to let go. Sometimes, there’s no winning or closure.”

“Unfortunately.” Ren agreed. Futaba and Sojiro both still looked very pained, but nodded. Chihaya leaned forward.

“Also, while there are some that linger just for their loved ones, that almost exclusively happens in those who died shortly before another loved one’s death, such as when their loved one is very elderly or terminally ill, meaning they won’t be waiting for more than a few years, tops.” She looked down and shook her head. “I’m sorry, but... you and Sakura-san combined most likely have many decades of life left.”

“Meaning waiting wouldn’t do any good.” Sojiro grumbled. “And, much as it pains us, we can’t expect her to do that for us.”

Futaba nodded silently, eyes half-lidded and downcast. Wakaba similarly looked down silently; a heaviness fell over the room. An uncomfortable, awkward pause came for several moments until Yusuke cleared his throat.

“I have a question, if I may.” he piped up. “Is there any way for a non-seer to gain the power to see ghosts?”

Chihaya quirked an eyebrow. “Why do you ask?”

“Please just humor me.” he pleaded. Chihaya didn’t respond for a moment before shrugging.

“For the most part... no. It’s an inborn trait that runs in families or arises randomly.” She hesitated. “However...”

“However...?” Yusuke pressed. She shook her head.

“... it has occurred before. People gaining the power well into life, rather than being born with it.” She looked up again. “However, the mechanism by which is poorly understood, and extremely— _EXTREMELY_ — rare, and it’s not recommended.”

“Why?” Ryuji questioned. She winced.

“Because it’s only arisen in people who very nearly died. People who, by all accounts, shouldn’t still be alive. For example, survivors of major trauma, prolonged comas, or cardiac arrest. And even then, it’s far from guaranteed— it’s only a little more likely in those with ghost seers in their family history.”

Yusuke looked mildly disappointed, but sighed and nodded. “Understood.”

“You’re not missing out.” Ren deadpanned. Sojiro cleared his throat.

“That aside...” He cast a worried look toward Ren. “Is it dangerous for him if more people find out? How secretive do we need to be? And is there any way to avoid... you know, being the intermediary between dead and the living when it pops up?” He crossed his arms. “I mean no offense, but—“

“None taken.” Chihaya reassured. “I understand why you ask.” She crossed her arms and sounded grim. “But unfortunately... yes. He— all of you should be very cautious. Our power is not something that any sane person wants to announce.” She huffed and shook her head. Her eyes were bitter. “There’s a lot of phonies and cold readers out there that claim attention and insult the lives of those who actually have to deal with this. People like us who actually have the talent know from experience to keep quiet.” She scowled. “There’s not a single ghost whisperer that hasn’t experienced harassment or violence at least once. There’s a reason there’s not a lot of information on people like us out there.”

“Sounds awful...” Ann murmured. Her eyes widened, and she flushed. “I mean people... not being okay with it.”

“You have no idea,” Chihaya sighed, “many of us over the centuries have been condemned as witches, dangerous cultists, bringers of misfortune and death. Many have been assaulted, ostracized, or even murdered— some even by their own families.”

“Jesus Christ...” Sojiro whispered in utter horror to himself. “I knew it had to be bad, but this...”

Chihaya nodded, and her gaze hardened. “I was hated in my village because I was seen as bringing bad luck. Most believed in my skills but hated me all the same.” She met Ren’s pained eyes. “You’re no exception to this, are you, Amamiya-kun?”

He shook his head and grumbled. “I have a criminal record indirectly because of a ghost, and I’m pretty sure everyone in my hometown is convinced I’m insane.”

The woman sighed. “I know how you feel.” She looked up at the others, who all looked horrified. “A gift though it may be, not everyone sees it that way.” She turned to an exhausted-looking Ren. “Make no mistake— we do have a beautiful gift, but we need to be very careful with it.” 

She turned to Sojiro and smiled tiredly. “Thankfully, having to actually mediate isn’t always necessary; many times the ghost just wants us to give them something or leave them a note. For those that do want to talk, they’ll leave without doing so if we insist we don’t feel safe having that conversation. Often, they’ll settle for having us write a letter and putting it in a mailbox or other location secretly.” She shrugged. “It shouldn’t always be avoided, but it should only be undertaken with great caution and relative sureness that the living won’t take it poorly.”

Sojiro put a hand on his chin. “Understood.” he affirmed. He turned to Ren. “I know you like helping people, but there’s going to be times you’ll have to say no, for your sake.” His eyes hardened, serious and stern. “You understand?”

“Understood.” Ren sighed with a tense nod. Futaba raised a hand again.

“How do you know all this?” she asked. “There a book on it or something?”

Chihaya looked down forlornly before she sighed glumly. “There’s... an organization for people like us. Most big cities have one. This city in particular has what’s called the Tokyo Whisperer’s Organization. They trade information with other ghost speaker organizations and help those with the gift who are in trouble, be it from family or personal crisis... some of the time. It’s also the world’s largest such organization, with about a thousand members.”

“Can we contact them?” Yusuke asked hopefully. “If it could help Ren to be in contact with more like him...”

Chihaya’s eyes darkened briefly before she looked up at Ren pityingly. “We’re, uh... they already know about both of us. We’re... blacklisted.”

The group all gaped or gasped. Ryuji scowled. _“What?!_ Why?!”

The woman scowled. “They’re... very secretive. I used to be a member, but got banned because of my... career... and associations.” She groaned. “... They don’t want any of their members getting too much attention.” She groaned and crossed her arms. “As for you, Amamiya-kun... you’re banned because of your criminal record.”

Ann and Ryuji loudly shouted _**WHAT?!**_ while they reddened with rage and scowls. Futaba, Yusuke, and Makoto all stiffened, their eyes filling with pain and anger while Sojiro grit his teeth.

“But he’s innocent!” Ryuji protested. “They can talk to ghosts, too, yeah?! Shouldn’t they know he was framed?!”

“They don’t care.” Chihaya grumbled. “I know a member that’s still willing to talk to me that said they didn’t bother to do an investigation. Apparently even if they found you were innocent, you’re still banned because they don’t want you attracting adverse attention to them, lest they get discovered.”

“That’s _BULLSHIT!”_ Ryuji roared as he stood up. “What’s the point of havin’ a club if they’re not gonna help the people they say they wanna help?!”

Sojiro clenched a fist. “So, they know all of that, and didn’t even bother to send anyone over to talk to the kid or teach him at all about this? They just let a confused kid who was all alone suffer with this by himself when he needed help?”

“They really left him all alone...” Makoto said shakily, rage emanating from her. “Not even a single word to a boy who had been abused and bullied his entire life... they should be ashamed.”

“I know.” Chihaya said with a huff. “They used to be more interested in the welfare of people like us, but they’ve lost sight of that in the name of keeping a close eye on its members in a selfish attempt to stay a secret organization; they’re incredibly paranoid. I was a member for only about half a year before being expelled.” 

“Screw ‘em!” Futaba snapped; she hopped off her stool she had been crouching on and stood with fire in her eyes. “We don’t need them! We’ll make our own club for you guys!”

“Yeah!” Ryuji agreed, standing up as well. “Fuck ‘em! We’ll have the best effin’ ghost club ever!”

Yusuke nodded firmly, a determined look in his eyes. “If they won’t be your support, we will!”

Chihaya blinked, dumbfounded, as Ren smiled softly. After a moment, she giggled and smiled, too. “I guess that’s what we’ll do, then.” 

Futaba raised a hand again. “Do they have a website or something? I’d like to take whatever info I can get from them.”

The woman shrugged. “I believe they do, but you have to use... I think it was called Tor? I’m not experienced enough with computers to try it...”

The girl blew a raspberry. “That it? Piece of cake. Give me whatever you know about it and its address— that’s all I need.”

Though looking weirded out, Chihaya scribbled down some notes and handed it to the girl who was crouching like a gargoyle. She snatched it and grinned deviously. Sojiro gave her a mildly concerned look before he chuckled and put a hand on his chin. 

“Well, you’ve got the cafe to meet up in. I just appreciate you being willing to help my kid.”

Chihaya beamed and nodded. “Thank you, Sakura-san; Ren-kun is very special, so it’s my honor to help out. I’ll do my best.”

“Special how?” Sojiro questioned, cocking his head to the side. “You mean just because of what he can do?”

Chihaya hesitated. She looked over at Ren, who had blanched as he silently shook his head at her. 

The two had grown closer over the last few months— he had begun helping her with her stand. While initially she had been dumbfounded by his ability to change fate, soon she realized it was a good thing. He had even changed Fukurai’s heart, the man who was holding her in his holy stone operation. 

From there, the truth became clear.

“You are the Trickster, as well as a Phantom Thief.” she had said— a blunt statement, not an accusation. “I read your cards extensively after our first meeting... and did it again after the chairman’s confession. It is the same.” 

Ren had just frowned defensively. “So what if I am the Trickster?”

The woman giggled. “No need to panic; I’m not telling anyone. I got you good, didn’t I?” Her eyes darkened as she looked upon him with pity. “Not only a young ghost seer, but the Trickster as well... the powers that be truly have thrust the weight of the world upon you, Ren... it’s a cruel destiny for such a young man.”

“Mifune-san?” Sojiro addressed worriedly. She snapped to attention and forced an awkward smile. 

“Apologies; I was lost in thought for a moment. All I mean is Ren is a very... kind young man. His ability to help and his willpower is something to behold.” The woman cleared her throat and looked up. “A—Also, as Niijima-san pointed out, there’s only about a thousand of us in Tokyo out of millions. We’re all... very rare and special.”

Sojiro blinked, scratched the back of his neck, and nodded. “... Alright, then.” he conceded. Chihaya checked her phone and grumbled.

“I’m sorry, but I need to head back to work; I’m running late.” She bowed to Sojiro. “Thank you again for the coffee and curry, Sakura-san. They were delicious.”

Sojiro smiled. “Come back anytime. Coffee’s on the house as thanks for your being willing to help my kid.”

Chihaya bowed and left. Ryuji whistled as the door closed. “Maaan... there’s a lotta stuff in this world we just don’t know a damn thing about, huh?”

“No kidding.” Sojiro agreed with a shake of the head. “I can barely keep up with any of this...” He put a hand on his hip. “Well, thank you all for coming and being so understanding. Ren’s got good friends.”

“Damn right he does!” Ryuji said proudly. He paused. His face went blank. “Uh... what do we do now?”

Ann held up her shopping bag. “Swimsuits. After we try on swimsuits, do you guys wanna make hot pot?” she suggested cheerfully. “We had time, so we hit the grocery store for supplies. They’re in the fridge.”

The boys shared a look. All smiled and nodded as they turned back to the girls. “That sounds wonderful.” Yusuke said cheerfully. “Did you happen to get udon or porridge for after?”

“No, but...” Futaba grinned deviously and held aloft a DVD. “I rented _Wraith!_ Let’s watch it while we eat!”

Ren reddened and scowled. “Gah! No, I hate that show!”

Futaba whined and pulled the DVD case in front of her mouth. “Not even to make fun of it?”

“It’ll be fun!” Ann reassured, elbowing Ren. “We’ll make fun of it. You can make all the fun you want about it!”

Ren pursed his lips and grumbled, but at Futaba’s hopeful stare and pout as she lowered the case, he groaned and nodded. “Fine. But we’re only watching it ironically. And I get to make fun of it whenever I want.”

Ryuji grinned. “That’s the spirit! Let’s do this, dead guy whisperer!”

Sojiro scoffed and smiled wryly. “‘Dead Guy Whisperer’ probably would have been a better title for that stupid show... you kids have fun.”

* * *

“Today went well, don’t you think?”

“Mhm... especially because you’re here with me.”

“Oh, stop... but thanks.”

As night fell, one by one the others bid their goodbyes with thanks for a fun day and a promise to meet up for the beach. Eventually, Ren and Makoto alone remained, leaning against each other as they cuddled on the couch. Morgana had quietly dismissed himself, giving the two privacy.

Ren kept an arm around her as she leaned her head onto his shoulder. His chin rested against her head. The girl sighed, relaxed and content. “It wasn’t so bad, was it?” she asked softly. “Do you feel better, not having to hide anymore from any of us?”

“More than you could ever know.” Ren affirmed quietly. “It’s like... this big weight is off of my shoulders. I’m so lucky to have all of you be so accepting...”

“We’re the lucky ones, Ren. Your gift has helped us all... especially Futaba, Boss, and I.” She put an arm around him and squeezed. “You’re the reason so many corrupt officers and criminals had their hearts changed recently, and you’re the one who’s helping us get closure. Soon... he’ll be able to rest, and it’s all thanks to you.” 

Ren reddened and sniffled. “God... don’t do that to me, my face can’t take it...”

“Ooh, did I make you blush?” Makoto giggled as she pulled away and kissed one of his red cheeks. “It’s nice seeing you not so stoic, for once.”

Ren scoffed. “It’s getting harder and harder to act stoic these days...”

“Maybe that’s a good thing.”

“Maybe it is.” Ren checked his phone and winced. “While it pains me... it’s getting sort of late. Will your sister get worried if you’re not home at a certain time?”

“Doubtful.” Makoto dismissed. She sighed forlornly. “Sis has been coming home so late in the evening lately... always tired, always cranky, so busy with work, hunting the Phantom Thieves. While it pains me that she’s always so busy...” She looked up, flushed and smiling with what Ren thought to be mischief. “At least, for tonight, I can get away with spending some more time with you.”

“Oh?” Ren smiled wryly. “Well, then... how do you want to spend the rest of our evening, Queen? The ball’s in your court.”

Ren caught only the briefest flash of an unusually devious grin before Makoto pressed her lips to his. He lost his balance and fell back on the couch, but allowed it as he returned the kiss. For the next several moments, they kissed passionately, wrapped up in each other. At the moment, it felt like nothing in the world could ruin the night.

“Hey, Ren,” Genkei’s concerned voice came, “hope I’m not interrupting anything, but Makoto’s late coming ho—“

Ren’s eyes flew open as he looked up, bug-eyed and horrified as he saw Makoto’s father gaping down at the two from by the stairs. Puzzled, Makoto pulled away and sat up over him as she gave him a baffled look.

“Is something wrong?” she questioned. He met her eyes and looked behind her.  After a moment, realization dawned on her face as she shrieked and jumped off of him.

“I can explain!” Makoto cried as she spun to where Ren had been looking. Genkei still was wide-eyed and mortified, and it took him several moments before he could speak in a broken voice.

“... I’ll come back later... just... keep it above the belt...” he groaned. “Makoto... maybe you should head home for the night.”

With that, he disappeared, the last image in Ren’s eyes that of the face of a profoundly uncomfortable and conflicted man. As Ren reluctantly shared what transpired, Makoto let out a mortified groan as she covered her face. 

He walked her back to the train station, an awkward silence between them. As he returned to the cafe, Sojiro looked up from where he was getting ready to close up and frowned.

“What was all that yelling and awkward silence about? Did something happen?”

“Makoto’s dad happened.”

Sojiro cringed with his whole body, pulling back and wincing. “ Ouch.”

“Imagine how I feel.” He winced. “Is death an option?”

His guardian shook his head. “I wouldn’t recommend that, because then you’d be a ghost, too, and you’d still be stuck with him. Maybe forever.”

_ “Fuck.” _


	22. The Oracle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Vivvav for character banter suggestions!

“Ren...”

“Uggghhnnnnn.”

“Ren, you can’t shove your face in your pillow forever.”

“Mmmmmph.”

“Ren.”

After yet another loud yet somewhat muffled-sounding groan, Ren pulled himself rolled onto his back to face Morgana. The cat kneaded against his shirt as he looked upon him pityingly.

“Okay... well... this isn’t an ideal situation, I know, but—“ 

“How could this be any worse?!” Ren griped, gripping the sheets tightly. “Her DAD walked in on us!”

His phone pinged. He lifted it, expecting a reply from Ryuji (who he had been venting to about it) only to see an earlier text from Futaba and a new one.

_**Futaba:** F _

_**Futaba:** Could have been worse.  _

Ren scoffed.

_**Ren:** How? _

_**Futaba:** You two could have been doing way more than just making out. Also he’s a ghost he can’t rip your balls off. _

_**Ren:** HE CAN HAUNT ME AND SCREAM AT ME ANYTIME HE WANTS _

_**Ren:** He can stand there the whole time... MENACINGLY. _

_**Futaba:** smh you should have just looked him in the eyes and kept going _

_**Ren:** Why would I do that?! _

_**Futaba:** It’s a power move. He can’t stop you. He’s a ghost. You’re alive. Assert your dominance. _

_**Ren:** Futaba, no. _

_**Futaba:** FUTABA YES _

His phone buzzed again, this time with messages from Makoto.

_**Makoto:** Sorry again about that... _

_**Ren:** Don’t apologize, it’s not your fault.  _

_**Makoto:** Still...  _

_**Makoto:** Have you heard from him yet? We’ll probably have to sit down and discuss it with him_.

“She’s right.”

Ren yelped and fell off his bed as Genkei appeared out of thin air. The boy clutched his chest and gasped for breath.

The man looked deeply uncomfortable as he avoided direct eye contact with the boy. “How long has this been going on?”

As he stood up straight, Ren scratched the back of his neck, swallowed hard, and shrugged. “A few weeks...?”

“A few weeks? Were you two together when I spoke with her after Futaba’s Palace collapsed?!” He scowled. “And you didn’t tell me?!”

Ren reddened and shook his head. “Not yet! It wasn’t long after, and we were going to tell you eventually!” He crossed his arms. “Also, it’s not just up to me; it was up to Makoto, too. We’re equal partners; I don’t get to decide matters like this unilaterally, especially when you’re her dad, not mine.”

Genkei looked as though he was about to object, but he stopped short. He stared at Ren, finger pointed and outstretched but his arm only half heartedly stretched out. Slowly, he put his arm down and stared at him.

“What’s he saying?” Morgana hissed. Ren shook his head, wide-eyed.

“Nothing, shh.”

The ghost looked like he was about to say something when Wakaba’s voice came.

“I’ll handle this.” 

Ren looked as Wakaba appeared, approaching the group. Niijima straightened his back as he faced her. “This doesn’t concern you, Isshiki—“

“Oh, yes, it does. Any children of Sakura-san are children of mine.” She turned to Ren, calm as ever as she clasped her hands together. “Go to bed. You and Makoto can speak with Niijima-san tomorrow at noon. I need to have a talk with him.”

Niijima stepped back. “Hold on, now, there’s no need for that. I’m not going to tear the boy’s head off.” He turned back to Ren and nodded stiffly. “We’ll meet earlier. 10 am, in the attic. I want to get this over with.”

He vanished before Wakaba could stop him. Ren was left blinking, bewildered, and finally, he returned to his bed and collapsed face-first into the mattress. He felt Morgana begin to push his paws against his arm.

“10 am.” he muttered, muffled before anyone could say anything. “I learn my fate at 10 am sharp, tomorrow...”

* * *

Wakaba had yet to make an appearance by the time Makoto arrived the next day, shifting uncomfortably as she clutched her purse strap tightly with both hands. Sojiro was unusually silent beyond offering a “good luck” to Ren. Morgana quickly excused himself, fleeing for a walk outside as the girl arrived. Behind her, her father followed, his face impossible to read.

Ren quietly greeted her and the two headed upstairs. They took their seats on the couch side-by-side; as they did so, Ren felt Makoto’s hand reach for his. He cast a nervous look toward a still inscrutable ghost, but still he clutched her hand reassuringly. Ren stared at the man quietly, joined by Makoto as she looked up where he was looking.

Finally, the ghost groaned. “Well... I’ll get right to it.” Genkei put his hands on his sides. He looked as uncomfortable as Ren felt. “While that was... not something I wanted to walk in on, I’m not mad. Worried, yes, but not mad.” 

Ren repeated it to Makoto, who didn’t reply. She just cringed. Genkei scratched the back of his neck and cleared his throat. “So... my little girl is dating someone. And that someone not only has a criminal record, but he’s the leader of the Phantom Thieves.” 

The boy looked up at Makoto’s father, swallowed hard, and nodded. “That’s correct.” 

He nodded, crossing his arms. “I want my daughter to be with a person of honor. You have that record, and you lead the Phantom Thieves...” Ren braced himself. “... because you are a man of honor.” 

Ren opened his eyes and blinked in disbelief as he looked up at the ghost. “Come again?”

“I mean it.” he said sternly. “If my daughter is going to be in a relationship with someone... I’d want her partner to be someone like you. Criminal record be damned, you saved someone and don’t regret your actions in spite of being unjustly charged. You’re no coward, but someone who sticks to his guns and his morals, and can keep up with my daughter as an equal... as you referred to her last night.” He grinned. “I always taught my girls to have self-respect, to not waste their time on idiots who want to treat them beneath their worth. They’re worth no less than any man. While I have no right to be deciding who my daughter dates... I’m granting you my approval.” 

Ren’s eyes lit up. He quickly shared what the spirit said to Makoto, who beamed as she looked up. “I’m so glad you understand! You won’t be disappointed; Ren’s a great guy.” She winced. “Sorry you had to find out the way you did, though.”

Genkei scoffed. “It’s my own damn fault for barging in uninvited; I should have asked Wakaba if you were occupied first. No apology needed.” He paused and cleared his throat, looking pained. “Just, uh... try to keep it above the belt at least until I move on. Please.”

Ren went beet red as he awkwardly told Makoto what her father had said. The girl let out a mortified yelp and went even redder than her boyfriend, to which Genkei shrugged. “Hey, better you hear it from me than your sis. Don’t let her know until her heart is changed; she’ll lose her damn mind and try to get him arrested again, probably on false charges.”

As Ren told her what was said, Makoto cringed and nodded, crossing her arms. “I already planned on keeping this from her for now. We’ll be careful around her.”

“Good.” Genkei looked over his shoulder toward the stairs and back to the teens. “I should get back to her. Oh, and Ren?”

“Yes?”

The man smiled. “There’s a motorcycle figurine Makoto’s been eyeing in a hobby shop in Akihabara near the maid cafe. Try asking her on a date and giving that to her.”

With that, he winked and disappeared. Makoto looked at Ren as he looked down in thought. “What did he say?” she pressed. Ren didn’t respond for a moment before looking up with a wry smile.

“He said I should take you on a date next week before classes start up again. How about it?”

* * *

“Did you get sunscreen on the back of your neck?”

“Yes, Isshiki-san.”

“No... let me check.”

Ren sighed as he surrendered himself to the ghost woman’s inspection of his bare back, slathered best he could with sunscreen at her behest. Futaba crouched on the couch, watching Ren shiver as he felt a cold breeze sweep the very back of his neck, just beneath his hairline. 

“You missed a spot here and behind your shoulder blades. Go ask your girlfriend for help.”

“Really, Isshiki-san, your concern is kind, bu—“

“Argument denied.” she said firmly. “You’re not getting skin cancer on my watch.”

Ren grumbled and looked toward his bed, where Makoto and Morgana sat with amused smiles. Makoto had arrived early to help make sure everything was packed and had already helped Futaba after her mother had fussed and ordered Ren to have her help with missed spots of skin for sunscreen protection. 

The boy had fully expected her to get as nagging about it as Futaba had warned him she could be, but he hadn’t expected her to fuss over him, too. He was barely able to put up an objection before the girls told him to shut up and let her help.

“Where did she say you missed?” Makoto asked, squeezing the sunscreen out of the tube. Its odor was permeating the air and intermingling with the scent of coffee as Ren quietly told her and allowed her to properly apply the sunscreen. At Ren’s reddened face, she shook her head.

“I already had you help me... it’s only fair that I help you, too.”

Futaba giggled and grinned at him. “Better get used to it, Ren. Mom’s always been really strict about wearing sunscreen.”

Wakaba shook her head. “I don’t want my kids getting sunburned, or worse, increase their chances of cancer later in life.” she said sternly. Ren felt something odd in his chest at the use of the plural “kids.” As he looked up, she approached Morgana, who was looking a bit mopey until he noticed Ren looking in his direction. Wakaba hummed to herself thoughtfully.

“Be careful how much sun exposure you get, Morgana-kun,” she warned worriedly as she pulled away, “your black fur will soak up heat far too easily.”

Ren translated, and Morgana blinked. He shook his head. “That’s kind of you, Isshiki-san, but I’ll be fine. This fur is more protective than you might think.”

Wakaba frowned, displeased. “Hmm...” She turned to Ren. “Keep a close eye on him to make sure he doesn’t overheat.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

With that, they gathered their belongings and headed downstairs. Sojiro intercepted the group by the door outside to give his daughter money for the beach, and stopped to talk with Ren.

“I imagined you already got this talk from her mom, but I’ll say it just in case. Make sure you keep guys away from her.” Sojiro warned. Ren nodded.

“She won’t be by herself at any point. I’ve got my eye on her.”

“Good.” Sojiro frowned, mildly discomforted as he lowered his voice. “As for you... well, try not to talk to anyone you don’t recognize. If you have to and you’re not sure, ask one of your friends to confirm it’s actually a living person.” 

“We’ll help.” Makoto reassured. Sojiro scratched the back of his neck.

“Glad to hear it.”

“Can we go yet?” Futaba whined from where she was crouching a few feet away. “Mom already gave us this talk and fussed over sunscreen and everything!”

Sojiro scoffed. “Hold your horses; the beach isn’t going anywhere.” He turned to Ren. “Well, that’s all I guess I really had to say. Off you go; have a good time.”

The man watched as the trio (plus the cat, for some reason; he tried to ask Ren about it but was rebuffed) took off toward the train station. He quietly smiled to himself and sighed wistfully.

* * *

In spite of the heat and the massive crowd, they all managed to have a great time at the beach. Food, swimming, banana boating, volleyball... and Futaba seemed to be enjoying every minute of it. The sight made Ren proud, even as he watched her trying to take a pair of lobsters Yusuke had bought away while the beleaguered artist held them up and away. 

When the sun began to set and the beach began to slowly empty, the group gathered by the shore to watch the sunset. It cast the sky shades of orange and pink as the sun began to dip beneath the horizon to bring the day to another part of the world. Yusuke stood back, framing it with his fingers while the others watched. Futaba seemed distracted as she crouched down at the edge of the tide.

“We about ready to go?” Ryuji asked. Ren shrugged. 

“We’re all packed up. We’ll head out whenever Futaba is ready; you can go on ahead if you like.”

She didn’t respond for a minute. The girl looked down at her toes, squeezing her fingers around them. 

“I was lost, you know.” she started quietly, looking out over the horizon. “For a long time, after my mom died. I blamed myself for her death.”

“Futaba...” Ann murmured gently as she approached. Futaba looked at the water pensively.

“Then... out of the blue, when I was listening in on Leblanc, I caught Ren speaking to her.” She shook her head. “At first, I didn’t believe it. But... as the days went by, I heard him saying more and more things that only she could know. Then when I overheard your meetings, discussing the Phantom Thieves, I was ecstatic. I realized it was all true; I couldn’t believe my luck.”

The girl stood up and turned toward the group. In particular, her eyes fell upon Ren. Her gaze was full of affection. “I couldn’t contain my excitement; I jumped up and down with joy when I found out I was so close to the Phantom Thieves. That plus Ren’s gift confirming Mom is still here and trying to help me... it gave me hope for the first time in a long time.” She smiled. “I owe you all thanks for all you did to change my heart, but especially you, Ren.”

“There’s no need to thank us.” Ren dismissed, a hand behind his neck as he looked toward the horizon. Makoto nodded.

“We want to help people; that’s why we were formed.” she added, clasping her hands together. “It’s what we do.”

“Plus, you helped us.” Yusuke agreed. “We never would have dealt with Medjed without you.”

Futaba giggled. “Yeah, you were all pretty helpless on that front. Guess we’ll call that even, but that’s just for the Phantom Thief stuff.” She nodded at Ren and sniffled, wiping an eye. Futaba paused and sighed glumly as she looked down. “All that aside, I feel a little bad for asking this.” Her eyes hardened. “I want to join the Phantom Thieves, but it’s sort of for a selfish reason.” She paused. “Uhh... Mom’s not here to hear this, right?”

Ren looked around himself and shook his head. “Nope.”

“Good, ‘cuz this is about those guys she refused to tell us about.” She growled under her breath. “I want to find the people who killed Mom and stole her research. I think that’s what’s holding her back, and I think she knows it, too, but isn’t willing to help us because she’s worried. I don’t care— I’d rather ask for forgiveness than permission on this. To free her, and to stop the mental shutdowns... I’m asking to join the Phantom Thieves.” 

“I don’t think that’s selfish at all, Futaba.” Makoto reassured with a shake of the head. Ryuji grinned.

“There’s nothin’ to join! You’re already one of us. Plus, since one of our new goals is to help put ghosts to rest, then we gotta help your mom out! Right, leader?”

Ren smiled, the red fading from his face. “Welcome aboard.”

Futaba beamed. “Thanks! I can’t fight or anything, but— I’ll help with my navigation skills! You’ll see!”

“Well,” Ryuji said, smirking at Morgana, “we could use somebody like that.”

Morgana glared up at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?! And why are you looking at me?!”

“You can’t deny she’s a better navigator. Just sayin’.”

As Morgana began to bristle, Ren stepped between them. “Enough.” he said sternly. He turned to Ryuji. “Ryuji, that’s uncalled for. I got him to stop making fun of you; I expect you to hold up the same respect to him.”

The blond sighed and scratched his head, looking sheepish as he remembered an intense, several minute-long scolding Morgana had gotten from Ren in Kamoshida’s Palace after he called Ryuji a ‘vulgar ape’ and mocked him after he missed an enemy. It was one of the few times he saw Morgana look genuinely ashamed and a bit frightened.

He immediately decided not to be on the receiving end of a similar scolding and sighed. “You’re right... sorry, Mona. That wasn’t cool.”

Morgana grumbled bitterly. “Apology accepted... I guess I deserve that after all I said to you back then.” The cat sighed and shook his head as he looked down at the sand glumly. Ren frowned and knelt down to him, prompting the cat to look at him quizzically.

“Morgana, don’t feel self-conscious about Futaba taking over as the navigator. You’re still an essential member of the team.”

The cat’s ears pricked upward, and his eyes widened hopefully. “Really...?”

Ren nodded. “Really! You’re the best healer on the team. I’ve lost count of how many times you’ve saved our lives. We’d all be dead if it wasn’t for you. Plus, you’re great at landing critical hits when we just want hold enemies up.” He nodded. “Think of it like this. Now that Futaba is the navigator, it means you’ll be even better at those tasks—fighting and healing—because you can devote all your energy to that. You won’t be spread too thin.”

The cat beamed as well as he could in cat form as he stood up straight, his tail erect. “You’re right! Thanks, Ren. I’ll keep making sure our fights go smoothly and no one dies!”

Ren ran a hand over the cat’s head. Morgana let out a mildly annoyed meow at the contact. “That’s the spirit.”

Makoto giggled and held her hands together. “This is what our Phantom Thieves are like. We get along, we bicker sometimes, but Ren does a good job keeping the peace. We hope you’ll enjoy being with us.”

“She’ll need a codename.” Ann pointed out. Futaba cocked her head to the side.

“A codename...?”

“We don’t use our real names inside the Metaverse.” Morgana explained. Yusuke pointed to Ren.

“Joker,” he moved his finger to Ryuji, “Skull,” to Morgana, “Mona,” Ann, “Panther,” Makoto, “Queen...” He pointed to himself. “And I’m Fox.”

Makoto looked the girl up and down. “‘Hacker’ wouldn’t be right, would it?”

“Mech?” Yusuke suggested. 

“PC?” Ann proffered. Futaba scowled and shook her head, her nose wrinkling.

“No.” she refused bluntly. Morgana laughed.

“Why don’t we be literal and go with ‘Goggles?’”

“Super lame,” Futaba dismissed as she tapped the ground with her foot impatiently, “you’ve got no taste, kitty.”

Ren stood up and toyed with a lock of hair in front of his eyes as he looked at her thoughtfully. “‘Pharaoh?’”

She scowled. “I’ll curse you.”

He scoffed. “Please, I’m already cursed.”

“Not yet, you’re not. You haven’t even seen the memes I intend to show you.” The girl looked down thoughtfully and back up as she pushed her glasses up. She nodded decisively. 

“‘Oracle.’ With my insight, I’ll guide you all to victory.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided I AM going to have Royal content— HOWEVER, it will all be done in a separate fic that will be in a collection with this one to avoid spoilers for those who haven’t played Royal. That fic will have some scenes that aren’t present in this fic (such as with Kasumi and Maruki) plus third semester shenanigans. Because I finished Royal and it is PERFECT for this au.
> 
> I don’t think this fic showing mostly vanilla content is done a disservice by having Royal content put in a future fic instead because let’s be real there’s not a lot in Royal that would significantly affect the story at this point in game.


	23. Last Day of Summer

The last day of summer break was perfect. Ren was called down in the afternoon by Sojiro, who declared they were going out to eat— and Ren was invited. Wakaba followed after them, and stayed with them as they enjoyed sushi, a favorite of both Ren and Futaba, apparently, who was stuffing her face with it and shaking with glee. 

“Slow down, no one’s gonna steal your food!” Sojiro warned. Wakaba let out a displeased, worried noise.

“Ren, be a dear and tell her to slow down. I don’t want her choking.”

Just as Ren relayed the message, Futaba broke into a coughing fit. Sojiro sighed. “What did your mother and I tell you? Here, drink some water.”

Futaba chugged from the glass he pushed her, and gasped as she pulled away. “Baffoom?!”

“B—Bathrooms?” Sojiro guessed, bewildered. “They’re that way.”

The girl jumped out of her seat and for the bathroom. Sojiro chuckled and shook his head. “Geez... what a busy girl.” He turned to Ren. “She, her mother, and I used to eat out like this together all the time.” He paused and smiled. “Well, I guess we still are, eh? Only difference is you’re here and it’s you doing the eating instead because she can’t.”

“Someone has to.” Wakaba said with a small smile. Ren scratched the back of his neck.

“She said ‘someone has to.’”

“Heh. Guess so.”

There was a brief pause as Sojiro looked away. Ren frowned. “Boss...?”

Sojiro looked back up at him. The man looked as though he was pushing back a tear or two. “Sorry. I just... really, thank you for being here. Even if it’s only for a little while, being all together again... it means the world to us.” He sighed and smiled. “So... thanks again for having the guts to tell us the truth.”

Ren chuckled. “Well, thanks for being willing to accept me. I know that even with proof, it’s weird.”

“Eh.” He shrugged casually. “I think I’m past how weird it all is. I guess that’s just part of us; none of us have ever been normal.” 

“Sojiro especially,” Wakaba remarked with a smirk, “he’s the weirdest one of all. I’ve seen him dip fries in ice cream before. Now, THAT’s weird.”

Ren went a bit red in the face and started muffling his laughter behind a hand. Sojirocrossed his arms. “Oh? What did she tell you now?”

“I—” Ren shook his head. “It was s—sort of—  _ snrk _ — rude.”

“Ren.”

With some effort, Ren shared the commentary in the same muffled voice they had been using, and Sojiro put a hand to his chest.

“Hey, don’t knock it ‘til you try it.”

“Heathen.” Wakaba groaned. Ren went even redder as he fought back a laugh and covered his face with both hands.

“What did I miss?”

The men looked up as Futaba approached. Ren just moved a finger aside to crack an eye open at Futaba as she gave him and Sojiro a funny look as she sat down. The man shook his head.

“Your mother is picking on me.”

“Ooh.” She turned to Ren with a wide smile. “Tell me what she said!”

Ren sighed, put his hands down, and shared what Wakaba said. Futaba grimaced, and her nose wrinkled. “Eww! That’s gross, Sojiro!”

“As I said, don’t knock it ‘til you try it.”

“I’ll pass.” she groaned. Her adoptive father crossed his arms.

“That’s not all. Right before you came back, he started full-on covering his face. Spill it, kid.”

Ren let out a huff and picked his head up with a funny smile. “She— she called you a heathen...”

Sojiro snorted as Futaba nodded at him, her nose still wrinkled. “Mom’s right, you ARE a heathen! You’re a  heathen, Sojiro!”

Ren covered his mouth as he laughed, and behind him, he heard Wakaba laugh, bright and cheerful. 

“Oh, this sends me back...” She watched as Sojiro got up to pay the check; moments later, she heard him.

“100,000¥?! You’re kidding, right?!”

“That also sends me back.” Wakaba said with a nostalgic sigh. Futaba winced. 

“So much for bringing some sushi back for Mona...”

With a sigh, Ren pulled his wallet out of his pocket.

* * *

“I can’t believe you actually got the cat sushi.”

Ren stood up after putting the small plate of sushi on the floor for Morgana, who was already practically inhaling the food after a quick “thank you!” The boy looked at Sojiro, who stared at him incredulously behind the counter, smoking a cigarette. He tucked his hands in his pockets and shrugged.

“Well, I promised him I would.” he said in a matter-of-fact way. Sojiro scoffed.

“Next you’re going to tell me you can talk to cats, too... that sushi wasn’t cheap.” 

Ren just shrugged. Morgana let out a sigh of utter bliss. “You’re the best, Ren. I owe you one.” 

Sojiro heard Morgana let out a meow of ecstasy. The sound coaxed a smile out of him. “... Well, whatever. I was hoping we could talk before I go home.”

“Sure. Anything wrong?”

“No, not at all.” He cleared his throat and looked away for a moment before returning his attention to Ren. “If... your parents were to allow it... would you want to stay in Tokyo?” As Ren’s eyes widened, Sojiro held a hand up. “I’m not trying to pressure you or anything, but it seems like you’ve... got quite the reputation in your hometown, and—“

“Yes, I’d love to.” Ren responded with a giddy smile. “If it’s not too much trouble, I mean...”

Sojiro grinned and ruffled the boy’s hair. “I wouldn’t have offered if you were. I’d expect you to keep helping out in return, but in the few months I’ve known you, you’ve already become like a member of the family.” He cleared his throat, and his expression sobered. “But just to be clear, don’t get your hopes up yet. I still need to talk to your parents and let the idea bounce around in their heads. I’ll try explaining that your grades have been excellent and you’ve made friends here.”

Ren beamed. “Thanks, Boss. Even if they end up saying no— I hope they don’t— I really appreciate you trying.”

Sojiro just smiled briefly before checking the clock on the wall and shaking his head as he turned his attention back to Ren. “Well, I’m not gonna open shop again. Shop was already open this morning, and business has been slow; I think I’ll just call it a day. I’m heading home; you ought to go to bed in a few hours— not too late— so you’re not too out of it tomorrow morning. It’s hard to get back into the swing of things if you don’t fix your sleep schedule.”

“I could just chug a bunch of coffee for the caffeine boost.”

“That’ll mean you’ll crash in the afternoon, idiot.” He jerked a thumb toward the stairs. “Go to bed at a reasonable time.”

* * *

He heard the chains hanging from the ceiling well before he opened his eyes.

The boy groaned and slowly blinked his eyes open to see the walls of the Velvet Room around him. He sighed internally as he sat up to see himself in prisoner garb. Rather than ruminate on or complain, he quietly pulled himself into his feet and shuffled to the bars of the cell, the chains around his wrists and ankle rattling all the while. He gripped two of the bars and peered out at an ever-smiling Igor as the twin wardens stared up at him.

“Welcome back.” Igor bid in his deep, gravelly voice. “It seems you have had quite the eventful summer, but you bore it well and came out stronger. You have done well.”

“Thank you.” Ren said with a stiff bow of the head. Igor chuckled and leaned his head against a hand.

“In particular, I must praise you for finding the courage to unveil the secret of your Sight to your fellow thieves— your collaborators and confidants.” Ren’s eyes widened as Igor nodded to himself. “It will speed along your rehabilitation, no longer hindered by the chains of such a secret.”

“You know I can see ghosts?!” 

He felt stupid almost as soon as he was done talking, and reddened as Caroline smacked the bars of his cell with her baton. She cast him an irritated look.

“Of course we do, idiot! You’re a guest of the Velvet Room, who can hold no secrets from our master! What sort of question is that?!”

Justine shook her head, looking mildly disappointed in him. “It was painful watching you deny yourself for so long...”

“Didn’t you ever wonder how I bestowed the gift of the Third Eye upon you?” Igor pressed, still with the same intense smile. “It is more accurate to state that I merely enhanced what was already within you.”

Caroline nodded. “Our master was generous for doing that for you, considering you were acting like a coward about it for so long! You better thank him!”

“Nevertheless,” Igor cut in, tapping his fingers on the desk, “this means the removal of one of the chains holding you down. As well as that, you should continue to cultivate your bonds with spirits the same as you do with the living. They are also your confidants who can help you stop the coming ruin, should they share your goals. Make use of them to aid your rehabilitation.”

“I will.”

“Good. One last thing for the night, Trickster...” Though his eyes were ostensibly the same, large bloodshot eyes, Ren thought he saw something foreboding in them. “You cannot save everyone, no matter how hard you try. Remember that well. Though you have found yourself in a lull, do not mistake it for eternal peace.”

The sound of an alarm ringing echoed through the room. Justine looked up at him. “It is time to return to the real world. Enjoy your break, Inmate.”

* * *

The fading summer sun still managed to be an oppressive force as the group walked to their old hide-out of the access-way after school. While the indoors was air conditioned, briefly walking outside still managed to sting the skin with heat. 

They found Futaba and Yusuke already waiting. Yusuke looked down in quiet bemusement at where Futaba was sitting cross-legged on the ground, typing away. The sky and the ground was cast a soft orange as the sun was beginning to slowly set, but the glare didn’t seem to perturb the girl on the ground.

“There you guys are.” the hacker said impatiently. Ann stared at her in disbelief.

“Futaba-chan, did you come here by yourself?!”

Yusuke shook his head. “I went to get her since I got out of school early.” 

Futaba’s nose wrinkled and she scowled. “What a patronizing Inari...”

Ryuji grinned and peeked at her screen. “So! Let’s get talkin’! What do we do now? We look for our next big target?”

“That’s important, too, but...” Yusuke crossed his arms. “What about that villain in the cognitive world?”

“It’s almost certain that this person exists.” Makoto agreed, her eyes narrowing. “What’s more, they’re inducing mental shutdowns... we certainly can’t turn a blind eye. Especially given that Isshiki-san’s freedom depends on the black mask being stopped.”

Ryuji sighed and scratched his head. “Yeah, but we don’t got any clues, and she won’t give Ren any hints...” His eyes widened as he looked up at Ren. “Oh, crap, that reminds me— she’s not spyin’ on us right now, is she? She’s gonna be pissed if she finds out we’re doin’ this...”

Ren looked astound the group and the accessway and shook his head. “I don’t see her. Coast is clear, for now.”

“Oh, good.” Ann breathed in relief. Ryuji grinned.

“In brighter news, you know how we’re totes popular right now?! Everyone at school’s talkin’ about us, and not a day goes by when you don’t hear about it on TV!” He laughed. “We totally made it big, don’t you think?!”

Ren shifted uncomfortably and looked away as Ann smiled and tucked her hands behind her back as she leaned against the railing. “True! The rankings on the Phantom Aficionado site have been crazy, too!”

“You mean this?” Eyes turned to Futaba as her mousepad clicked. Ryuji’s eyes widened.

“Huh? What the hell? First place... keeps changin’ by the second!”

“People are voting around the clock, after all.” Futaba replied casually.

Ryuji looked at the screen with excited eyes. “If we go after one of these guys, I’m sure we’ll score some big cash at least once!” He looked up at Ren with those giddy eyes. “What would you use that money for, Re...” Ryuji stopped short as he realized Ren was looking away nervously. “Ren?”

The boy shook himself out of his stupor and forced a weak smile at Ryuji. “Huh? I’m sorry, can you repeat what you were asking?”

Ryuji’s smile faded. “Are you okay...?” He gasped gently. “Is there a ghost or somethin’ tryin’ to talk to you?”

“Do we need to give you some privacy?” Morgana asked worriedly. Ren quickly shook his head.

“No, no! It’s not that. I’m just, uh...” He tapped his foot anxiously. “Still thinking about the black mask guy is all. Sorry for bringing down the mood.”

“At least you’re focused on the big threat.” Morgana huffed. “It’s true that we need to stay on our toes, but remember it’s okay to celebrate and take a breather, too, alright?”

Ren nodded stiffly. “Right. Noted. Thanks.”

“I’m definitely gonna punch that guy!” Futaba declared. Ryuji’s jolly mood returned as he looked back up.

“The culprit forcin’ mental shutdowns... if you think about it, there’s no bigger target than that! If we can change his heart and get a confession out of him, we’ll be on top of the world for real!”

“I don’t know...” Ren crossed his arms. “I don’t think it’ll be that simple...”

“Why’s that?” Ann questioned. Ren twisted a lock of hair in his fingers. 

“If this guy has access to the Metaverse, it’s likely that he has a Persona.” He frowned. “Persona users can’t have a Palace as far as we know.”

“He’s gotta have one!” Ryuji griped, frowning. “Why else would he be killin’ people left and right?!”

“No, we shouldn’t discount Ren’s suspicions.” Yusuke spoke up firmly. “We have no idea who we’re dealing with and what they can do; caution is necessary.”

Makoto nodded. “The fact alone that they can go in the Metaverse is alarming.”

Ryuji frowned and kicked the ground. “Damnit... what a buzzkill...” He forced himself to smile. “But! No matter what goes down, if we take him down, it’d be awesome! Should we reveal our identities the—“

“ _FUCK_ no!” Ren protested forcefully, louder than he intended. As they drew funny looks, he reddened, tucked his hands in his pockets, and looked away. Yusuke’s brows lifted, and he crossed his arms.

“Ah-HA,” he murmured, “this is what’s bothering you, isn’t it?”

Ren sighed and looked up with a weary nod. “I... don’t like all the attention from the media. I’m not saying we should stop or anything, but it makes me nervous.”

“Huh.” Ryuji crossed his legs as he gave him a confused stare. “You never seem to mind showin’ off in the Metaverse... you’re so Extra it hurts.”

“That’s different.” Ren huffed. He shook his head and turned his attention to the rest of the group. “In any case, has anyone found anything relevant to the case at hand...?”

Makoto cleared her throat. “Sis is actually doing an investigation of the mental shutdowns and the Phantom Thieves, but... I doubt she’ll share anything with me, and all her notes are on her laptop.”

Futaba held up a flash drive. “It’s too dangerous to go alone! Take this!” She grinned deviously. “I was going to suggest you try her. This has my special program on it that’ll clone the hard drive. All you need to do is plug it in. It’ll take a few minutes, but if you can plug it into her laptop and keep her from looking... you bring it back to me and I’ll extract _aaaalllll_ the precious data.”

Makoto flinched back, clutching her purse strap. “You want me to plug that into sis’s laptop? But what if she catches me...?”

“Do it when she’s preoccupied by something else, like the bathroom.” Futaba suggested with a shrug. “It’ll be quick. If she leaves it out for _juuust_ a few moments, that’s all we’ll need.”

Makoto hummed nervously and stared at the drive for a moment, biting her lip. Then her eyes widened, and she reached out for the drive. 

“I’ll do it.” she finally agreed, and turned her attention to Ren. “I have an idea. I’ll just need you to speak to my dad.”

“Your dad? Why?”

Makoto smirked. “You’ll see; we  could use his help. Listen, and let’s get to work...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve had a few requests for confidant arcs, but I’m really trying to stick to the main story so I don’t go meandering in too many directions from the story. Maybe I’ll do something later for the Royal content, but for now, we’re sticking to the big stuff.
> 
> This was gonna be longer but the chapter was getting so long that I had to chop it.


	24. Distraction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW abuse. Not graphic but emotional abuse referenced.

Genkei stared apprehensively at the various bottles and toiletries that sat precariously close to the edge of the sink and bathtub as he waited, arms crossed. He didn’t have much faith in the plan Makoto had pitched to him, but he promised to try anyways.

Distract Sae by knocking things over while Makoto steals data from her computer. That was his mission.

“Can I at least know why you’re cloning her data?” he had asked after Makoto pitched the plan. Upon Ren’s translation, Makoto shrugged.

“Its to see how much she knows about the Phantom Thieves,” she explained, “we just want to make sure she’s not getting too close—“

“You want information on the mental shutdowns, too, which you know she’s been investigating.” he said bluntly. After Ren told Makoto what he said, they just stood in silence for an awkward moment while Genkei looked down at them with an inscrutable expression. Finally, he sighed and put a hand to his forehead. “Jeez... this guy is just gonna keep killing people if he isn’t stopped, but... Makoto...” 

He closed his eyes and let out a groan before pulling his hand away and sighing. “I can’t say I like this, especially not with my daughter going into that danger. However, I know nothing I say will stop any of you, and I know you very well may be the only people who can stop whoever’s conducting the mental shutdowns.” Genkei shook his head. “Goddamn it. Fine; I’ll help you. Just don’t get caught by anyone, especially not Wakaba, and don’t do anything stupid.” He met Ren’s eyes very briefly with a fierce intensity. “Are we clear?”

“Crystal clear.” Ren said evenly, meeting his gaze.

Makoto set up bottles and other objects in the bathroom, and tested it. “Okay,” she had said after she moved stick deodorant to stand up by the edge of the sink, “try pushing it with as much force as you can.”

Genkei slapped it. Little more than a tiny breeze was the result, akin to what the others felt when ghosts touched them, but sure enough with the aid of gravity, it was enough to tip the stick over and onto the ground. Makoto grinned at the sight, and began prepping the bathroom for their plan.

It was well past 8, and Genkei was beginning to worry Sae wouldn’t come home that night when the bathroom door creaked open, and he saw his eldest daughter walk in. She looked exhausted as ever, eyes marred with stress. 

She walked right past Genkei and toward the bathtub, where she began to reach for the knob. Genkei struck his first target, the same deodorant stick from earlier. It clattered to the ground, prompting Sae to stop partway, her arm outstretched toward the faucet, and turned with a briefly befuddled look. 

The woman stood up and picked up the deodorant, put it further back on the sink, and turned to return to her bath. She barely made it to the tub when Genkei shoved a tube of toothpaste onto the floor. Sae stopped yet again and turned, this time genuinely baffled.

“That’s weird...” she muttered to herself. As she walked past, Genkei phased through the toilet to the bathtub, where he began shoving shampoo and conditioner bottles. Sae jumped at the sound and turned on her heel just as she picked up the toothpaste. “What the...?”

Genkei felt akin to a cat shoving things off a table as he proceeded to shove a bottle of body wash onto the floor. The cap sprung open as he pushed it, spilling some of its contents. Sae blinked and let out an annoyed huff as she reached for a paper towel. 

A bottle of shave cream by the sink was his next target. He shoved it into the sink, causing it to clatter loudly, drawing a startled yelp from Sae. The woman stood up and approached the sink, blinking. “What in the world’s going on? Ugh! As if my life wasn’t hard enough...”

Genkei stood back and let her pick everything up before proceeding to shove everything alongside the tub back into the tub— tubes, bottles, a razor, everything fell in one swoop. Sae let out a cry of dismay and a groan as everything came crashing down. 

“What in the actual—“

“Sis, you alright?!”

That was the signal. Genkei ceased knocking things over and smirked as Sae scratched her head. “Fine!” she called back. Genkei exited the bathroom and went out to the living room, where Makoto was closing the laptop lid and extracting the flash drive Futaba had given her. The girl wiped some sweat from her brow and let it a sigh as she quickly shoved the drive into her pocket.

“Thanks, Dad.” she whispered before grabbing a book and sitting on the couch to look innocent. Genkei stood where he was until Sae came out from her bath, still looking a bit bewildered. Makoto looked up from her book and frowned. “Sis?”

“Nothing is wrong, I just...” Sae crossed her arms. “Was there a small earthquake or something a few minutes ago?”

Makoto shrugged. “If there was, I didn’t notice, but it’s possible.”

“Hm.” Sae let out a sigh and scratched the side of her head. “The strangest thing was happening when I was trying to get ready for a bath— everything kept falling down and making a mess. I can’t figure out what caused it.” 

“Huh. That’s odd.” Makoto replied, feigning mild surprise. Her sister nodded

“Very.” The woman smiled slightly and chuckled. “Makes you wonder if our apartment is haunted.”

Makoto let out a laugh that was a bit stronger than she anticipated before getting up from the couch. “You never know, Sis. Maybe Dad’s messing with you.” she suggested wryly. Sae shook her head and chuckled.

“It seems like if we were being haunted by Dad, he’d find a more mature way to get a rise out of us. Though, I wouldn’t completely put it past him...” 

Makoto just giggled and continued on her way.

* * *

The next few days were devoted mostly hyping over the upcoming Hawaii trip— especially for Ren as soon as Makoto said she was to be going as a chaperone. Too often he caught himself daydreaming about the perfect date he’d take her on. In the meanwhile, they still had Phantom Thief business to attend to.

The group had gathered in Futaba’s room while the girl began examining the data from the drive full of data Makoto had lifted from her sister’s computer. Futaba took the drive from Makoto, who looked apprehensively at the drive. “Here you go. I think I did it right...”

“Hehe. Leave it to me.” She giggled. “So how’d the plan work out?”

“Perfect,” Makoto said with a giggle of her own, clasping her hands together, “Sis came out complaining about everything being knocked down repeatedly. She joked that the apartment could be haunted.” The girl laughed and shook her head. “If only she knew...”

“Wish I coulda seen her face.” Ryuji said with a laugh from where he was sitting bow-legged beside Ann on Futaba’s bed. A mess of various travel guides laid on the bed under his legs and in front of him. “Way to go, Papa Niijima!”

“Oh, shoot!” Futaba turned her neck and looked around her chair at Ren, who was standing off to the side by the window curtain behind Makoto, his hands tucked in his pockets. “That reminds me! Is mom here?”

Ren glanced around and shook his head. “Nope.”

“Great.” Futaba muttered as she returned to her computer. Ann stared down at all the travel books Ryuji had brought with a raised brow. She sat on the edge of the bed, crossing her legs as she used her arms to steady her as she looked over the books.

“You got all of these for Hawaii?”

Ryuji nodded, not looking up from the book his eyes were in. “If we’re gonna lay low, we might as well enjoy it.” He held his travel book up, grinning. “Oooh, look at this one! Giant sea turtle sight-seein’ on some beach!”

Ann laughed and shook her head. “Come on, food’s more important than some turtles! You really don’t find steak this big and thick in Japan!” She paused as she stretched her neck to peek at the travel book her had in hand. “Also... Mahi-Mahi? Is that some kind of fish? Think it’s good?”

“Mahi-mahi is fish. I wanna eat it AND I wanna see the turtles.” Ren interjected. Morgana let out a forlorn sigh from Futaba’s desk, prompting him to turn and give an apologetic frown. “Sorry, Morgana, but there’s no safe way to smuggle you onto a plane crossing international borders. I know you feel left out, but...”

“I understand.” the cat sighed with a shake of the head. “I’m not blaming you, but it is a let down... I feel left out, and it’s all because of this stupid cat body...” He looked up hopefully. “When I get my true form back, will you take me to Hawaii to make up for it?”

Ren smiled. “Will do. In the meantime, is there any sort of souvenir I can bring back for you?”

The cat hummed for a second thoughtfully before sighing and shaking his head. “Nothing I can think of... but if you see anything you think I’d like...”

The boy nodded. “I got you covered. Just take it easy while we’re gone.”

Morgana sighed and smiled weakly. “Will do.”

“Sorry to interrupt, but...” Makoto cleared her throat and looked over Futaba’s chair at her computer, where she stood beside Ren. “Have you found anything yet?”

Futaba clicked her tongue and didn’t look up. “I just started going through it... it’ll take me a few days to sort through all of it. Should be done by the time you all get back from your trip.” She grunted. “Ren... bring me back something, too!”

“I will.” he promised. “Anything in particular?”

There was a pause, then a shrug. “Dunno. Something Hawaii-like.”

“How specific.” Yusuke said dryly from where he stood, arms crossed. “Unfortunately, if you were expecting a souvenir from Los Angeles, too, I don’t have the money for it...”

Futaba snorted. “Classic Inari...”

Ryuji looked up from his travel guide and grinned at Ren. “Don’t I seem like I could be an LA guy?”

Ren cocked his head to the side. “How so?”

The blond shrugged. “I dunno...” He held a hand up with his pinkie, index finger, and thumb pointing up, his other, middle fingers curled inward. “... gangsta?”

“You’re not ‘gangsta.’” Ann deadpanned with an eye roll.

“I think you have a fundamental misunderstanding about what LA is like...” Yusuke scoffed. Ryuji narrowed his eyes and lowered his hand.

“Like you’re any better! None of us have even been to LA! What’re you even gonna do there?!”

Yusuke beamed. “I’m glad you asked! I am to take a trip to the Getty Center and Getty Villa! The center itself boasts numerous works of pre-20th century art, and the Villa has even older, ancient—“

“Ooh, here comes some interesting data!” Eyes flew to Futaba as she spoke up, and everyone quickly gathered around her chair to look at the computer screen. The bed rustled as Ryuji and Ann pushed themselves onto their feet and off the bed. Futaba paused and looked up at Ren. “Check again real quick for mom. We don’t need her listening.”

Ren glanced around before nodding. “All clear.”

“Stay on watch just in case.” She cleared her throat. “Anyways, this is just from a quick glance... but it says ‘perpetrated’ and ‘connected.’”

Makoto turned to the group. “It means the mental shutdowns aren’t coincidences— this is a ‘case’ with a culprit behind it.”

“Actually, it’s not just about people having shutdowns.” Futaba continued, frowning. “Looks like she’s inferring that it’s connected to the psychotic breakdown incidents.”

“Go, Makoto’s sis!” Ryuji muttered, awed. 

“Just bear in mind that this is just a preliminary search,” Futaba reminded the group, looking around the chair, “I need more time, at least several days, before I make any final conclusions about this.” She hummed nervously and looked back up at Ren. “I hope my mom doesn’t try to look at what I’m doing and figure out what we’re up to... but it’s a risk I’m gonna have to take while you’re not here.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about it,” Ren dismissed, “if you’re just at home and on the computer, unconcerned, I see your mom far more often in Leblanc watching customers come and go or wandering Yongen. Just don’t act like you’re doing anything weird and she probably won’t suspect anything.”

Futaba’s lips quirked up as she giggled. “You see Mom wandering in Yongen?”

“On occasion, though she’s been doing it more often since you came out of your room.” He shrugged. “It’s pretty benign— she mostly just people-watches. Occasionally she shames me out of an impulse buy at the second hand shop.”

A chorus of snickers came from the others. Futaba turned back to her screen and nodded. “Then I won’t be concerned.”

“I don’t really get it, but you’re amazing as always, Futaba!” Ann gushed, wide-eyed. “I guess it’s called an information war? It’s so high tech that it reminds me of s movie!”

Morgana let out a long yawn, exposing his two little incisors and shook his head. “Well, you seem like you have this handled, Futaba... guess I’ll be napping most of the time...”

“Whaaat?” Futaba huffed. “Okay... but can you stick around my room at least for your naps?”

“Why?”

“‘Cuz I don’t mind the company.” She giggled. “AND! You’ll be my debugging duck!”

Morgana blinked. “Debugging what now?”

“Debugging duck.” Futaba repeated.  “Sometimes when programmers debug a code, they talk through the program to a rubber duck so they can figure out what might be causing an issue.” She smiled. “It’s not often, but I might need it occasionally. You’ll play the role of the debugging duck while you’re here— I’ll talk about my code and all you have to do is be a listening ear. No programming experience necessary.”

The cat smiled. His tail stood up. “Well... if you need my help, then who am I to argue?”

Futaba and Ren shared a brief look. Futaba winked at him, and he grinned and clapped his hands together. “Alright, well... let’s adjourn for today. We should all make sure we’re packed and prepared for our trips.... myself included.”

* * *

“Pack more underwear.”

“But Isshiki-san—“

“No objections. Fill your suitcase with as many pairs as you can spare.”

Ren grumbled and began packing his suitcase even tighter. So far, the woman had been very nagging and stringent over what she thought he needed to bring. As soon as she had heard about the trip, she asked to be there when he packed. He felt nervous as she watched him make sure he had everything.

“Boss, help, she’s nagging me on what I’m packing.” he had whispered as he walked back from the laundromat. Sojiro just laughed at him.

“That’s how Wakaba is with her kids. Better get used to it, ghost boy.” he replied, amused. It wasn’t like Futaba was there either to defend (or at least commiserate with) him. Everyone was busy except for Wakaba and Morgana; no one could dissuade Wakaba from mothering the boy. While the nagging annoyed him, to some extent, he liked it. He hadn’t received that level of concern or attention since being sent to Tokyo... not that he would admit it.

When he was done stuffing all the clothes he needed in plus the extra underwear, he gave Wakaba an exhausted look. “Is this okay?”

“Perfect.” She crossed her arms. “It’s better to be over-prepared than under-prepared. Too many young men unwittingly don’t pack everything they need.” She reached out to pat his head, and he felt a cold breeze gently clap the top of his head. “Good job.”

“Thank you.” he said coyly, flushing a bit as he began to try to wrangle the suitcase’s zipper to close.

“It’s what moms do.” She looked at a clock on the wall and tsked. “And just in time. You should go to sleep; you need to be awake in a few hours to get to the airport on time.”

“But it’s only—“

“Shh. You’ll thank me when you have to wake up in a few hours. Off to bed!”

With that, the ghost disappeared for the night. After sharing the conversation with Morgana, the cat quickly agreed with her assessment that an early bedtime was prudent, and herded him into bed.

He was almost asleep when his phone began to ring.

Groaning, he squeezed his eyes tight as he sleepily reached for his phone and answered without looking at the caller ID. “Hello...?”

“Well, hello to you, too.”

His mother’s voice. Ren’s eyes flew open as he sat up, the bed rustling under him. Morgana yelped and began righting himself as Ren stammered. “M—Mother!”

“And Father, too.” he heard his father say. Ren couldn’t bring himself to respond as he stared down at his feet dumbly. He heard his father clear his throat. “Something wrong?”

Ren quickly shook himself and forced a smile even though they weren’t there. “Ah, no! No, sorry, I was just about to sleep. Trying to get rest because I have to wake up in a few hours.”

“We’re sorry for waking you, love, but this couldn’t wait.” his mother said. “We know it’s been awhile.”

“If you count ‘awhile’ as ‘over 5 months without speaking to your own child’...” Morgana muttered. 

“Was that the cat Sakura-san told us about?” his mother questioned, amusement in her voice. Ren forced a laugh. 

“Oh, yeah, he’s not happy I woke up. He was sleeping on my chest.”

He heard them giggle. “What a cutie! You’ve always had a way with animals.” She cleared her throat. “But we’ll get to the point so you can go back to sleep. We wanted to tell you how proud we are of you.”

Ren blinked, dumbstruck. “Beg pardon?”

“We know, we haven’t spoken to you for a long time,” his father said dryly, “to the point you were probably thinking we disowned you. Perhaps we overdid it, but we were just trying to teach you a lesson. Sometimes tough love is necessary.”

“A lesson...? Tough love...?” Morgana whispered, befuddled. Ren’s mother giggled.

“He has the cutest meows... but yes, sweetheart. We’re still disappointed in you, but now we see that perhaps it was for the best all along, in an odd way. Sakura-san’s reports have been absolutely glowing, and you remained at the top of your class!” 

“He said you’re an adept apprentice and a good kid, and made friends, even,” his father added proudly, “plus your homeroom teacher has written only good things on your behavior. This tells us that you haven’t been... acting upon those hallucinations of yours. We thought we’d never see the day.”

“I told you he just needed to have the world kick him down,” his mother said in a matter-of-fact way, “sometimes that’s the only way one will learn.”

Ren coughed; he could feel his stomach churning. “Oh, uh, yes, I’ve had... no events of the sort since coming here. Don’t worry.”

“That’s my boy.” his father praised. “Keep that up and keep learning from Sakura-san; you may have a record, but he’s still teaching you a trade. That’s your only hope of a bright future.”

“... Yes.” Ren murmured. His throat felt dry, and he could feel Morgana shaking. He cleared his throat. “So, uh, was that all you needed to say?”

“Don’t be in such a rush,” his mother scolded, “we think it’s time to reconnect with you is all. You seem to have learned your lesson.” She sighed heavily. “Unfortunately, our reputation back at home has not improved. We plan on moving to another town once your probation is up. You humiliated us, but what’s done is done.” 

Morgana hissed as Ren silently clenched the sheets of his bed, but his mother just kept speaking. “As for you, Sakura-san has mentioned that you said you’d like to stay in Tokyo; if your behavior remains good, we’ll allow it.”

“Really?!” The word escaped him before he could stop himself as excitement jumped in his chest.

“Well, someone’s eager.” his father said dryly. “But yes; we think it’d probably be for the best for you... and for us. Just make sure you keep ignoring those hallucinations of yours if they come up, and make sure that neither Sakura-san nor your friends find out about your... issues. They’ll abandon you and Sakura-san will kick you out the instant they find out, if they do.”

The excitement was immediately muffled by red hot shame flooding him. Ren began to shake. “... Understood.” he muttered.

“That’s a good boy. Oh, and one other thing: I know there’s been a lot of weird stuff happening with that Phantom Thieves nonsense, but make sure you keep your head down, no matter how odd things get. It’s for your own good.”

“Yes, Father.” It took every ounce of willpower he had to keep his voice from cracking.

“Be sure to call us when you arrive in Hawaii safely,” his mother bid, “okay, that’s all! Get some sleep, honey. Mom and Dad love you!”

He hung up and lowered his phone. Morgana let out an angry yowl as he did. “How DARE they try to call up and act like nothing’s wrong?!” His back arched, and he hissed. “What sort of parents ignore their child as a punishment, especially for months on end?! Plus, that ‘tough love’ nonsense is such— and then they— they said YOU embarrassed THEM when you saved that— and then their claims that we’d all abandon you— it’s— that’s—“ He let out a very angry hiss. “That’s UNFORGIVABLE! Also, while I already knew that they were refusing to acknowledge your gift, it makes me so mad to hear them call them hallucinations!” The cat practically screamed with rage as he stomped a paw against the bed. “It makes me  sick! Maybe we should check Mementos for—!”

Morgana stopped as he heard Ren breathing shakily and shuddering.Though it was dark, he could see and smell the tears running down Ren’s face unimpeded. A heavy weight fell in the cat’s heart, and his anger slowly abated as he crawled forward to rub his face against Ren’s cheek. “... Hey. Don’t take any of that to heart, alright? They’re in the wrong, not you.”

Ren didn’t respond immediately, and with an inward sigh, Morgana stayed where he was at Ren’s side. They sat like that for a long time, quiet purring and soft sniffling in the dark. After awhile, Ren took a steadying, shuddering breath. “... Thanks.”

“Are you going to be okay?” Morgana whispered worriedly. “I know you must be having a lot of feelings about this...”

Ren shook his head. His voice was raspy. “I’ll be okay, with time. I have no regrets.” He fell back onto the mattress, his phone falling out of his hand and alongside his torso. “... No regrets...”

He shut his eyes. After what felt like an eternity, Morgana could hear the soft breathing of slumber.

Hesitantly, the cat inched forward, picked up the phone with his mouth, taking care not to leave a mark, and trotted downstairs with it. In the darkness of the cafe, his black fur perfectly camouflaged him as he snuck into the kitchen and dropped the phone on the floor. 

He unlocked the phone. The cat navigated to his contacts and found the full names of his parents. He quickly closed contacts and moved to the Metanav. The cat swiped to his search history and didn’t have to look far— the names of his parents had already been searched for. They were positive Mementos hits.

There was a moment of silence before Morgana huffed quietly. “I knew it...” He sighed. “Why hasn’t he said something yet? We could make the time for a Mementos run to change their hearts, no problem...”

With another pensive sigh, he closed the Nav and locked the phone again, then picked it up and snuck back upstairs. Morgana carefully put the phone back where it had been and curled up alongside Ren. 

“Forget them, for now.” he whispered sadly. “Sweet dreams, Joker.”


	25. Hawaii

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read chapter 2 of the Confidants fic before continuing in this chapter!

Ren felt like a zombie when he woke up to Morgana pushing paw against his face, his phone alarm buzzing, and Wakaba’s hand patting the side of his face, leaving cold breezes buffeting his cheek. The room was still pitch black, and he felt groggy and exhausted.

“Wakey-wakey,” Morgana chided with a yawn of his own, “time to get up if you want to be at the airport on time.”

“Chop chop; don’t be late!” Wakaba agreed, clapping her hands. Ren squeezed his eyes shut for a second, groaned, and began extracting himself from his bed. The rest of the very early morning felt like a blur as he dressed himself and ate breakfast after Wakaba nagged him to eat something. Finally, he grabbed his suitcase and departed.

“Have a good time, and stay safe!” Wakaba bid. Morgana yawned again and stretched himself, front to back by the door as Ren opened it.

“Have a nice trip.” the cat murmured drowsily. “Off you go.”

Ann was yawning as he met up with her and Makoto in the airport. She stretched her arms upward. “It is... WAY too early...” she yawned. The blonde blinked at Ren as he stood, hunched over, his eyelids closed. Makoto gently shook his arm and the boy jerked awake with a sharp gasp and comically wide eyes. 

“I’m awake!” he gasped. Makoto frowned worriedly. 

“Are you okay...? You did go to sleep early, right?”

“I did,” Ren replied as he put a hand to his head, “I just didn’t sleep well...”

“I know the feeling.” Ann said with another yawn. “It’s probably just stress. We’ll feel better once we arrive in Hawaii.”

“Mhm.” Ren looked around and frowned. “Where’s Ryuji?”

“I’m here!” Ryuji gasped as he came charging up with a wild look in his eyes. He gasped and bent over, hands on his knees as he fought for breath; he was carrying a heavy-looking red backpack. “I...” He panted and stood up, breathing hard. “I slept through my alarm. Hauled ass to get here on time.”

Ann and Makoto eyed his backpack warily. “Is that all you’re bringing?” Ann asked dubiously. Ryuji rolled a shoulder back and frowned.

“Ain’t it enough?”

“... Maybe for you.” Ren deadpanned. Ryuji grinned as he looked at the girls.

“See? He agrees with me!”

“I don’t think that’s how he meant it.” Makoto said with a shake of the head. Ryuji eyed Ren’s bulging suitcase and frowned.

“Why do you have so much shit?”

Ren yawned and wiped an eye. “Isshiki-san’s insistence. She kept telling me to pack more clothes and wasn’t satisfied until I practically couldn’t close the damn thing.”

Ryuji chuckled. “Heh. Ghost Mom’s being a mom, eh?”

“Aww!” Ann giggled. “She’s just looking out for you so you don’t end up like Ryuji.”

“HEY!”

“Well, at least everyone’s here...” Makoto murmured. She frowned at Ren. “Are you sure you’re okay...? It seems like something’s bothering you.”

“Yeah,” he yawned, “just... very tired.”

Ryuji grinned. “Would you say you feel... dead tired?”

A chorus of groans arose. Ann shoved his arm as Ryuji laughed, covering his mouth and shaking. Ren was about to respond to the joke when he stopped as he saw Mishima approaching, himself looking a bit tired, too, with lines beneath his eyes. 

“Heads-up, they want us near the boarding gate in a few minutes.”

“Right,” Ren said with a curt nod, “thanks, Mishima.” He turned to the others and wiped his eyes. “We should get going.”

“Hang on,” Ann said with a smile, “we’re about to go to Hawaii! How about a pre-flight group picture?”

* * *

Ren and Ryuji were two of many students who ended up falling asleep on the plane. They ended up falling asleep leaning against each other, prompting Ann to sneak over and snap a quick picture of the slumbering boys. Mishima struggled to contain his laughter as she did so.

They eventually reached the islands, and though Ren felt more rested after his long nap on the plane, he couldn’t help but keep thinking about the conversation with his parents. Having to call them to affirm he landed safely made his anxiety rise more than it should have.

He tried to put on a brave face and act like nothing was wrong, but he worried that his friends could see right through the act. Ren wasn’t even sure why he felt so guilty; he knew he was well within his right to lie, but somehow he felt horrible anyways. Part of him for a moment wondered if it really was all a hallucination before shaking the thoughts away. 

Hawaii was beautiful, at least. That at least helped draw his attention elsewhere, but his mind kept drifting back as he laid down on his hotel bed. Mishima shared the room with him and stood by the window, looking out at the Hawaiian night.

Ren’s phone buzzed, and he opened it to see a text from Futaba.

_**Futaba:** Now that you’re all settled... _

_**Futaba:** Morgana told me everything that your parents said. _

_**Futaba:** I’m mad. So mad I don’t even know how to articulate how mad I am, so I’m just gonna say this: I’M BIG MAD. _

_**Futaba:** I told Sojiro. He’s ALSO Big Mad. He told me to tell you to call him when you get a free moment in a safe place. _

_**Ren:** Will do. Thanks. _

Ren stood up from the bed and at Mishima, who glanced over curiously. “Need to go call my guardian. I’ll be in the bathroom; can you stay over here for a few minutes, please? Need some privacy.”

Mishima nodded. “Yeah. I’ll be here... checking the usual site.”

With that, he pulled his phone from his pocket, and Ren retreated to the bathroom. He took his phone back out of his pocket and stared hesitantly down at the phone before sighing and calling Sojiro. He lifted it to his ear and heard only two rings before the other line picked up.

“Hey,” Sojiro said, sounding worried, “thanks for calling. You doing okay?”

“Mhm. I’m okay.”

“Okay, good.” Sojiro exhaled sharply. His voice grew angry. “Futaba told me that you told her that your parents called you last night. She also told me what they told you. I’m not happy— at all.”

“I’m sorry.” The apology came out before Ren could think twice, and he heard Sojiro scoff on the other end.

“The hell are YOU apologizing for? Anyways, I wanted to talk to you in case they try to call you again.” His voice hardened. “If they ask if you’ve seen what they call hallucinations because they’re idiots in denial, you have permission to lie to them and say you’ve seen nothing of the sort. I want you to keep lying to them. Tell them what they want to hear and not a single word more. That probably sounds like a weird order coming from your guardian, but for your sake, you need to tell them what they want to hear. Just keep your mouth shut until it’s official that you’re staying with me, and even after that, you should. You understand?”

Ren stammered for a moment, his eyes wide with disbelief. He cleared his throat and nodded to himself. “Yes, sir. I already lied my ass off yesterday. I just wish I didn’t feel so guilty about it...”

There was a pause, then a sigh. When the man spoke again, his tone was softer. “Listen. It’s okay to lie in this situation because it’s for your own safety. You’re just doing what you have to to stay safe, doing what THEY forced you to do. You’re not crazy, there’s nothing wrong with you, and they’re completely in the wrong, not you.” Sojiro huffed. “When you come home, I want you to only call them when I’m present. Understand?”

Ren managed a small smile. “Understood.”

“Good.” Sojiro cleared his throat. “Anyways, easier said than done, but just...” He sighed, and his voice was calm again. “Just try to enjoy your trip, alright? Try not to let what they said get to you.” He chuckled. “Maybe you should take your girlfriend on a date. You’re in Hawaii, after all; you’d be an idiot to waste this opportunity.”

Ren chuckled and smiled to himself. “Oh, I will. I have it all planned out.“

“That’s my boy.” He couldn’t see him, but he could imagine that smug grin of his. “Just make sure you read the mood and make sure she’s comfortable. Women love a sensitive, empathetic man. Also make sure it’s stuff that SHE’S into, not just what YOU’RE into.”

“I know.”

“I’m just nagging you so it goes off without a hitch. You’ll thank me later.” He cleared his throat. “Well, go get some sleep. It’s nighttime there and you must be tired.”

“Will do. Nig— oh, it’s... morning or afternoon there, right? Well, have a good day.”

“Good night, kid.”

Ren hung up the phone and reached for his eyes, wiping them briefly before heading back out to the room he shared with Mishima. The other boy at some point had sat down on a chair by the opposite wall and was browsing something on his phone. He looked up and smiled.

“Hey. You look like you feel better.”

Ren cringed. “Was it that obvious?”

“For most people? No.” Mishima shrugged. “For those who have gotten to know you, yeah. The other Phantom Thieves kept giving you worried looks and you seemed on edge, at least. Everything okay?”

“It is now. I think.” Ren shrugged. “Thanks for your concern.”

“That’s what friends are for, aren’t they?” Mishima grinned. “Cheer up! We’re in Hawaii and the Phantom Thieves are world famous! You deserve to celebrate!”

Ren forced a smile. “Heh. I’ll try.” He headed toward his bed and flopped onto it face-first. “Phew... night, Mishima.” he said, albeit muffled.

“Night, Amamiya.”

* * *

While the call and his parents lingered in the back of his mind, Ren managed to have a good trip in Hawaii. The team pressed him about what had been bothering him earlier, but he managed to dismiss it, not wanting to ruin the trip. They let it go when he said he’d discuss it when they got back. In the meanwhile, he managed to figure out attractions to take the team to when they realized they had no idea what to do. The only exception was when they visited a Big Bang Burger when he was tired the first full day of the trip.

“Just like being in Japan.” Ryuji muttered. Ren shrugged.

“I asked if anyone wanted to look up restaurants and we all agreed we were too tired to bother.” 

“The giant turtle watching was worth it.” Ann said with a giggle. “I know what I said about it before we left, but... they were adorable— and we can find an authentic Hawaiian restaurant tomorrow.” Her eyes hardened at Ren. “Promise?”

“Promise.” he said with a smile. Makoto cleared her throat.

“That aside, it’s odd how fast Big Bang Burger has spread. It’s only been around for a few years.”

Ann sat up straight. “Oh, that’s right! I think the CEO is number one on the poll on the Phansite for who people want us to change the heart of next.”

“Well,” Ryuji said with a grin, “then we got our next big target when we get home, yeah?”

After that, the rest of the trip was almost perfect... except for Ryuji inadvertently exposing Ren as a ghost whisperer to Mishima, who was jittery and excited about it the rest of the trip after Ren carved out time to help a ghost. That was a bit of a caveat because he kept asking questions as he thought of them, and Ren caught him at least once on his phone at night, on a website about something to do with ghosts and seers.  


Mishima also ended up puking his guts out one night after drinking the local tap water while Ann and Ryuji were sharing the room, having been booted from their own rooms. He came out of the bathroom white as a sheet, looked at Ren, and asked if he was a ghost. He flopped in bed after Ryuji and Ann confirmed they saw him, too.

Yusuke joined them after his flight had been rerouted to Japan following a storm preventing them from landing in Los Angeles.

The date with Makoto had been the crowning moment of the trip, the part he would look back on fondly. They shared a plate of garlic shrimp, walked Waikiki Beach, and watched the sunset together. No ghosts, no Shadows, no danger—they just got to enjoy each other’s presence.

(The only issue was when they saw Mishima and Ryuji walking the beach trying to pick up girls. Ren just smiled and waved at their envious stares while Makoto rolled her eyes at them).

Eventually, the day of departure came, and they gathered in the lobby as they waited for the bus to come.

“Maaan, that was a great trip.” Ryuji said, stretching himself. He sighed and frowned. “Or, it was almost great. I am... sorry again for outing you to Mishima.”

“I’m over it.” Ren sighed with a roll of the eyes. He grinned. “The rest of the trip was great!” 

“It was mostly great,” Ryuji corrected, “but Mishima and I had no luck yesterday...”

“Yes, I saw.” Ren said with a smirk. Ryuji glared at him and quickly flipped a finger at him.

“Oh, shut it, lover boy.” he grumbled. “Show off...”

Makoto rolled her eyes. “No one’s showing off, Ryuji...”

Yusuke beamed. “While I was disappointed that I did not get to visit the Getty Center, I had a wonderful time in Hawaii, surrounded by friends.” 

Ann giggled. “We should come back one day.”

Ren smiled brightly. “Yeah,” he agreed, “we should.”

* * *

Though exhausted from jet-lag, Ren wore a lei and carried his bag of souvenirs as he returned to Leblanc, where everyone was waiting. Futaba was in a booth, Sojiro was behind the counter, Morgana was on a stool, and Wakaba was standing by her daughter. All perked up at the sight of him, and he at them. He felt at home immediately.

“Welcome back.” Sojiro greeted with a grin. “Did you get a tan?”

“How was it?” Futaba added. Ren held a hand up, his middle fingers and thumb curled in and his index and pinkie pointed up as he beamed.

“Aloha!”

Futaba gasped dramatically and recoiled back. “He’s been influenced!” 

“I can see why, though.” Sojiro said wryly. 

“Nerd.” Morgana snickered. Ren began rifling through his bag and extracted a bag of Kona beans, which he held out to Sojiro.

“This is for you, Boss.” 

Sojiro took the bag and steadied his glasses as he looked at the label. The man cracked a smile. “I said you didn’t have to bring me anything... thanks, Ren. That’s kind of you.”

Ren shrugged. “I wanted to, so I did.” He reached into the bag and pulled out a cushy red pillow that said I <3 HAWAII. The boy set it down on the stool next to Morgana. “This one is for you, Morgana. For you to sit on if you choose to do so while I’m doing homework.”

Sojiro scoffed. “That’s kind of you, but I doubt he—”

“Thanks!” Morgana chirped gratefully as he jumped onto the pillow. He began to knead it lovingly. “This’ll be great to sit on when you’re making infiltration tools. I appreciate it.”

Sojiro blinked as the others erupted into giggles. He finally smiled and put a hand on his chin. “... I stand corrected.” He looked up at Futaba and his voice dropped to a whisper. “Quick, get a video of him kneading the pillow before he notices!”

Morgana immediately stopped and would have reddened if he was a human. He cleared his throat and settled himself on the pillow. Even so, he closed his eyes in content and pulled his legs under his body, becoming a cat loaf on the pillow. Quietly, he purred, content. Sojiro quietly pulled his phone from his pocket to snap a picture of the sight while Ren began to rifle through the bag again, this time extracting a T-shirt with a picture of the Hawaiian islands. 

“I wasn’t quite sure what to get you, so I got you this.” Ren said as he held it out to Futaba. “It’s unisex, so it might be too big, but it might be a good paja—”

Futaba snatched it from his hands and get the fabric. Her eyes widened. “Oooh, it feels comfortable, and it’s a size too big! Not too soft or fuzzy! This’ll be perfect for lounging in while I’m at the computer!” She beamed at Ren. “You know me so well! Thank you!”

Ren smiled. “All in a day’s work.” He turned his attention to Wakaba, who gave him a funny look.

“I hope you didn’t get me anything. I’m dead, I have no use for physical possessions.”

“No one’s getting left out.” He pulled a rolled-up poster out of his bag. “This is a poster with a map of the Hawaiian Islands and some local fish species. It’s not much, but maybe it’s something you could look at if it’s put up on a wall?” He sighed and scratched the back of his neck. “Sorry. I just didn’t want to leave you out just because you’re a ghost.”

Wakaba’s eyes softened, and she cooed. “Oh, Ren, sweetheart...” She walked forward and patted his head. He shivered on the contact. “You’re such a sweet boy, thinking of me. Thank you.”

“I’ll put it up in the living room.” Sojiro spoke up. He nodded appreciatively. “This was really sweet of you, Ren. Thank you for being so thoughtful.”

“For real.” Futaba said as she clutched the shirt tight. Sojiro cleared his throat, and Ren looked over to see his expression he’d soured in an instant. 

“Your parents didn’t bother you again, did they?”

“Nope.” Ren said with a shake of the head. “I just called them per their request to let them know when I landed safely. No talk really happened other than ‘okay, thanks for the call’ on their end, thankfully.”

“Still makes me mad.” Futaba growled. “It’s not hallucinations! It’s so obviously not!”

“I know, but there’s no winning with them.” Sojiro said with a sigh. “We’ll all just play dumb. They won’t know the difference.”

“Maybe the Phantom Thieves should change their hearts.” Wakaba growled. Sojiro shook his head.

“Well, I need to make a quick run to the store. Be back in a few; hold down the fort for a few minutes.”

As soon as he left, Futaba pulled herself out of the booth and stood up. A determined look filled her eyes as she looked around furtively. Ren met her eyes and shook his head, prompting the girl to clear her throat and shrug innocently. 

“Let’s all meet tomorrow,” she suggested, “so we can decide our next move, the data I extracted, and talk about what happened with your parents.”

“Sounds good,” Ren said with a yawn, “for now, I’m feeling pretty jet-lagged. I’m going to bed.” He turned to Morgana. “How was it, being a debugging duck?”

“Boring. She only needed my help once.” Morgana replied with a scoff. Futaba giggled.

“You were such a great help, though!”

“How did it go?” Ren asked. Morgana hummed thoughtfully.

“Well...”

* * *

Futaba spent several moments recounting her program to Morgana, who didn’t understand it but listened intently all the same, his tail swishing. 

When the girl realized the error, something that seemed glaringly simple and obvious, she let out a frustrated cry and turned her gaze on Morgana. Her intense stare made him jump.

“Hand me something not breakable!” she demanded. Morgana looked around until he found an actual rubber duck behind a corner on the ground. He picked it up with his mouth (and winced at the taste of dust) and handed to Futaba. The girl’s eyes widened. “Ooh, you found it! Thanks!”

With that, she chucked it against the wall with all the force she could muster. It slammed against the wall and bounced under the bed. Futaba smiled and nodded while Morgana stared, ears pinned back and eyes wide. He let out a startled meow as she patted his head. 

“Good job, Mona.” she praised, sounding relieved. “I feel better now.” She turned back to her screen. “Back to work!”

Morgana shuddered. “Glad to help...” he murmured as he quietly hopped off the desk and retrieved the fallen duck.

* * *

“... So yeah! He did great.” Futaba said cheerfully. Morgana shook his head. 

“I didn’t know you could throw anything that hard...”

“It’s programmer rage. It knows no bounds.”

Ren cleared his throat. “Right, well, uh... good job. I’m going to bed; let’s meet tomorrow.”

* * *

It was reaching dusk, and Ren barely got to sleep when his phone began to buzz furiously. Morgana, from where he was lounging by his side, let out a yawn and began patting his arm as the boy groaned and shoved his face in his pillow.

“Wake up. We’ve got messages.”

“Hnng... tired. Can you check to see if it’s... anything important?”

Morgana sighed and looked at the phone screen, where the message of interest was waiting.

_**Makoto:** Principal Kobayakawa died during our trip. Probably by mental shutdown. _

“WHAT?!”

Ren jolted as the cat yowled. He groaned and pulled himself up to position sitting upright on his knees, his eyes still closed tightly. “What is it...?”

“You need to read this.” Morgana insisted. Ren fumbled for the phone and yawned as he held it up. His eyes cracked open slowly as he began reading the text. Abruptly, his eyes flew open.

“Son of a _bitch_.” he gasped. He opened the texts and saw the others were already freaking out, too.

_**Ryuji:** For real?! _

_**Ann:** So suddenly? _

_**Makoto:** He died from being struck by a vehicle in the middle of the road after stopping abruptly halfway to a police station—he even took a taxi to get there. _

_**Futaba:** Maybe he was murdered like Mom was. Why would he pay for a taxi to take him to the police only to commit suicide there? _

_**Makoto:** For that exact reason, Sis thinks he was targeted by the Phantom Thieves.  _

_**Ryuji:** We don’t kill people! _

_**Makoto:** Yes, but suspicion is being lain upon us all the same. People don’t know how changes of heart work, only that they’re superficially similar in mechanism to mental shutdown.  _

_**Futaba:** That’s bad. _

_**Yusuke:** An understatement. _

_**Yusuke:** Ren, for our investigation, this will be your time to shine if the principal’s spirit is still lurking. It would be a prime opportunity to speak with him and get information about the mental shutdowns, if he knows anything. _

_**Makoto:** It’s likely he’s still... around, given the traumatic nature of his death and the fact he was murdered. _

_**Ann:** Do you think he’ll be haunting the school or his apartment or where he died? _

Morgana groaned. “He could be anywhere... probably one of those locations, though.”

Ren grimaced and responded.

_**Ren:** Okay. If I see him, I’ll be sure to let you all know. _

_**Ren:** That being said, I’m hoping he moved on, because I REALLY do not wanna deal with him as a ghost.  _

_**Makoto:** I know, but you’re going to have to deal with it. You’re the only person out of us who can do this and we need information. _

_**Ren:** What if I pretend that I can’t see him or hear him?  _

_**Futaba:** Ren pls _

_**Ann:** Come on... _

_**Ryuji:** Dude. _

_** Makoto: Ren. ** _

_**Yusuke:** That would be irresponsible and childish, especially given the fact you’re our leader. _

_**Ren:** Fine, fine. Other than that, let’s still plan on our scheduled meeting tomorrow.  _

_**Ann:** Futaba mentioned that something was upsetting you before you left, and we could tell you were stressed in the beginning; we’ll still talk about that, too, right? _

Ren grit his teeth.

_**Ren:** ... Yeah. After that, we’ll discuss what Futaba found and our next target. _

_**Ren:** Rest well, everyone. Sounds like we’re going to be busy tomorrow. _


	26. Told Off

They could hear the whispers and gossip well before they even reached the school gates. Wherever Ren and Morgana passed, they could hear Shujin students huddling together and whispering as if no one else knew the juicy gossip that they did.

_ “I heard Principal Kobayakawa committed suicide!” _

_ “He probably couldn’t handle the negative press because of how badly he managed all the scandals...” _

_ “Good riddance.” _

_ “Well, I heard he was targeted by the Phantom Thieves!” _

_ “Do they even kill people?” _

_ “Who cares? He had it coming to him.” _

Ren grimaced as he heard more of the same around him at the school assembly about it. Ryuji and Ann similarly seemed distressed— Ann was hugging herself nervously while Ryuji was angrily muttering under his breath.He was still seething when they headed up the stairs to the second-years’ floor, quieted only by a need to keep a secret identity.

Ren found himself distracted as they headed up the stairs— he thought he heard a familiar man’s voice yelling helplessly while no one seemed to notice. 

“You’re really tense,” Ann whispered as he stopped briefly, making him jump, “are you okay? Do you see something?”

“Kobayakawa?” Ryuji guessed from his other side. Ren grit his teeth and put a hand to his head. 

“It sure sounds like him... I hear yelling up there that no one else seems to notice...”

“I can’t hear nothin’,” Ryuji agreed with a sigh, “I think you’re hearing him, though.”

“He must be on the next floor,” Morgana whispered, “keep an eye out.”

With a gulp, Ren and his friends proceeded. As he went, the yelling became more intelligible.

“— you, don’t you— can you— _WHY CAN NO ONE HEAR ME?!”_

Ren grimaced as they got to the second years’ floor. As Kobayakawa let out a distressed wail, Ren instinctively turned his head to see Kobayakawa on the floor, pounding a fist and wailing helplessly as students walked by him or through him, unseen and unheard. 

“You see ‘im?” Ryuji whispered. Ren nodded.

“He’s on his hands and knees, just... crying his eyes out. Almost makes me feel bad for him...” 

“Are you going to approach him?” Ann whispered. Ren hummed nervously and looked at his phone. 

“We have to be in class in a few minutes... I don’t have long to explain myself...” He grimaced and looked back down at Kobayakawa with a mix of scorn and pity. “Ugh... what to do...”

Kobayakawa slowly picked his head up to exhale loudly. He blinked up and stopped short as he saw Ren staring down at him. A loud gasp escaped him as he pulled himself to his feet. Ren blanched and took a step back as Kobayakawa gaped at him.

“You can see me!” he gasped as Ren stiffened with discomfort. A beaming smile broke out over the ghost’s face. _“You can see me!”_

“Oh, fuck.” Ren hissed as the man charged up to him. He tried to throw his hands on Ren’s shoulders, only to pass right through him. The ghost’s smile faded, and he groaned helplessly.

“Please, you have to help me!” Kobayakawa begged, bowing deeply for a brief moment before standing upright. “I implore you! No one else can see or hear me and I’m desperate!”

“Hey— hey!” Ren hissed, glancing around nervously before turning back to Kobayakawa. “Not here! I have to go to class! Meet me on the rooftop at lunch hour.”

“You can’t help me now?! Forget class, I—”

“Those are my terms.” Ren said stiffly. He turned away and to his friends. “We need to go to class. I’ll deal with him at lunch on the rooftop.”

“See you then.” Ryuji agreed. Kobayakawa sighed heavily and rubbed his head.

“I suppose I don’t have any other options... I’ll be there.” He have Ren a wide-eyed, pitiful look as Ren turned back to him. “Please don’t forget about me! You’re my only hope!”

“I won’t.” Ren groaned and squeezed his eyes shut. “Oh, trust me, I won’t. Unfortunately.”

* * *

Ren, Morgana, and Ann reached the roof first. True to his request, Kobayakawa was pacing by the HVAC units and perked up at the sight of Ren.

“Oh, Amamiya-kun, you came! You really came!”

“I sure did.” Ren groaned. Ann glanced around.

“Should I stay on watch?” she asked. Ren nodded as he turned to her. 

“Yes, please. Make sure the only people who make it up here are members of our team.”

“Your team...?” Kobayakawa questioned, baffled. Ren cleared his throat and crossed his arms at Kobayakawa.

“So, let’s start with the basics. Are you aware of what happened to you, and what you are now?”

Kobayakawa sniffled and bobbed his head. “I... I died. And now I... I’m... I’m...”

“You’re a ghost.” Ren said bluntly, tucking a hand in his pocket idly. Kobayakawa stared in silence at him as the door creaked open and the boy turned to see Ryuji approaching. “Hey. I’m giving you-know-who a talk.”

“Don’t mind me, then.” Ryuji said with a shrug. Kobayakawa winced.

“Does Sakamoto have to be here? In fact, does anyone else have to be here? They can’t see me, can they?”

“They’ll be here with me.” Ren said firmly as he turned back to the principal. “They’re part of my team.”

“Your...” Kobayakawa shook his head and groaned loudly, his hands on his head. “What in the world is happening?!”

“I’ll summarize it for you.” Ren said sternly as he put a hand on his hip. “You’re dead, you’re a ghost, and I’m the only one here who can see or hear you.” 

“He sees dead people.” Morgana piped up, pulling himself out of the bag. Kobayakawa recoiled back, wide eyed.

“Did that cat just talk?!”

“He did.”

“Did he call me a cat?!” Morgana demanded. Ren nodded, and he hissed. “I’m NOT a cat!”

“Then are you a demon?! Am I in Hell?!” 

“He’s not a demon!” Ren snapped. “Kobayakawa, I can help you, but you need to calm down!”

“Calm down?! CALM DOWN?!” Kobayakawa threw a hand to his forehead and broke into a manic laugh, as if the absurdity of the situation finally broke him. 

“How’s it going?”

Ren turned to see Makoto approaching. He heard the ex-principal stop short and could imagine his gaping as Ren shook his head. “Not well. Kobayakawa’s losing his damn mind.”

“CAN YOU BLAME ME?!” Kobayakawa cried, drawing his attention back as the man began to pace again. “I’m dead! _DEAD! MURDERED_ at the hands of the people who are conducting the mental shutdowns! I’m going to go to Hell for all the idiotic things I did for sure!” He broke into a sob, and Ren’s nose wrinkled.

“Oh my God, stop crying and work with us here.” Ren snapped, making Kobayakawa stop short. “Tell me what you know about people conducting the mental shutdowns.”

Kobayakawa shook his head. “Why does it matter?! It’s hopeless! There’s no way a child like you, unique though you may be, can stop them! More lives are going to be lost and THERE’S NOTHING WE CAN DO! I’m doomed! _DOOMED!”_

“I’ll be the judge of that.” Ren said firmly. “Kobayakawa, if you want redemption, you’re going to have to calm down and help me out. I can help you, but you need to listen to me.”

“Am I going to go to Hell if I move on?!” Kobayakawa griped desperately. “After all I did! If I had known there was truly an afterlife— I’m such a fool!”

“Is he giving you trouble?” Makoto asked, already sounding irritated. Ren shrugged as he turned back to her.

“He’s freaking out really bad... understandable, I guess, but it’s making it hard to get information.”

Makoto scowled and crossed her arms as Kobayakawa looked at her in disbelief. “Kobayakawa, we can help you, but you need to do as he says and calm down.”

Kobayakawa stammered as he stared down at the group. He took a breath and frowned suspiciously. “Why are all of you here? Who are all of you kids, really?”

Ren bit his lip and turned to the others. “He wants to know who we are...”

“We’re the Phantom Thieves.” Makoto snapped. Kobayakawa gasped and put a hand to his chest while Ryuji gaped at her.

“You just straight up told him that?!”

“Who’s he going to tell? He’s dead.” Morgana scoffed. 

“I don’t believe this...” Kobayakawa muttered, gripping the sides of his head. “Niijima-san, you JOINED them?!”

“And now he’s shocked that you joined us.” Ren explained. Makoto smirked with that same smirk she had when she first approached the Thieves with damning evidence of their identities. She casually brushed back a lock of hair.

“Surprised?” she asked coolly. “I investigated them like you asked... but long story short, I realized they were just. They showed me I didn’t have to be your puppet, didn’t have to be ANYONE’S puppet. So yes, I joined them.”

“You could have saved me!” Kobayakawa cried in dismay. “If you had just...” He stopped and looked at Ren, who crossed his arms and shook his head at him. Ren turned and relayed the information to the others; Makoto just scoffed.

“This was your own fault. You allied yourself with evil people that you KNEW were bad, and you lazily tried to make a student do your dirty work. Don’t think you can shame me, and if you want our help to move on, you’ll behave yourself and play by our rules.” Her eyes hardened. “Understand?”

Kobayakawa scowled. “Don’t lecture me! I was your principal!”

Ren shook his head. “I don’t think you should be getting that high and mighty when I’m literally the only person who can see you. Don’t you get it? You’re dead. You have no standing anymore, and we’re under no obligation to be treating you like our superior.”

Kobayakawa stared at him before nodding and sighing. “You’re right... please forgive me, Amamiya-kun. I am in your debt for agreeing to help me.” He forced a smile. “I always knew you weren’t so bad! I could sense something special about you, something good about you from the start! That was why I let you into Shujin when no one else would take you, and I—”

“Really?” Ren asked with a scoff. “Because I seem to remember you treating me like a nuisance when my only crime was trying to stop a man from raping a woman.”

Kobayakawa sighed. “I know, and I am deeply sorry!” He held his hands together. “Please forgive my indiscretions! I made a horrible mistake, and when I tried to go to the police, they silenced me! You’re the only one who can save me! Besides, you owe me after I let you into this school!”

“Is he trying to kiss up to you after threatening you?” Makoto guessed bluntly. Ren turned to her and nodded.

“How’d you know?”

“Because I’ve dealt with him more times than I would like.” Makoto snapped as she stepped forward, her eyes full of fire. “You listen to me, you son of a bitch.” she spat bitterly, not unlike that of her anger when she awoke to Johanna. The others instinctively took a step back from her, Kobayakawa included, who gaped as Makoto clenched her fists and continued her attack, her eyes full of fury. “You were, and still are, even in death, a whiny, selfish, despicable excuse of a human being who is only concerned about his own wellbeing.”

Makoto stomped a foot. Ren swore the concrete beneath her foot cracked a little. Kobayakawa, in spite of being dead, looked legitimately terrified as she took another step forward. “You got your job as a lapdog of the people orchestrating murders of innocents, as well as the endangerment and injuries of those subject to psychotic breakdown. You had to know all of this if you were going to the police about it, but up until then, you were more than happy to turn a blind eye for your own gain!”

“Niijima—” the man tried to defend himself, but fell on deaf ears.  Makoto jabbed a finger in the rough direction of where she assumed his ghost was. The ghost let out a startled yelp as her finger almost made contact with his chest. She grit her teeth.  


“And what did all of this really get you in the end?! You died! You’re dead, and nothing you had followed you in death. If you want our help, you need to stop your groveling and complaining and help us, you pathetic, self-pitying weasel.”

The silence that followed was deafening. All the others gaped, and a muffled _“holy shiiit...”_ escaped Ryuji. Kobayakawa was still gaping dumbly for a long moment, and continued to stare as Makoto cleared her throat and brushed off her skirt. 

Silently, the ghost hung his head. “... You’re right.” He let out a sob. “You’re absolutely right... I deserve all of that, and I’m sorry... not that it means much.” He looked up at Ren and nodded, his eyes filled with determination. “I’ll make this up! I swear I’ll make this up! Just you wait, I’m going to be useful for you! I’m officially switching sides to the Phantom Thieves! This is how I’ll be saved!”

“That’s great,” Ren said with an encouraging nod, “can you please tell us—”

“I’ll be back soon, I promise,” Kobayakawa vowed, “I’ll get you more than just what I know! I WILL be useful!”

He vanished, prompting a yelp from Ren as he reached out. He stopped midway and stared at where the principal had been. The boy groaned and pulled his arm back, tucking his hands in his pockets. “He... he said he was going to help us by getting information... and took off.” 

“For real?” Ryuji groaned, facepalming. Makoto winced.

“I’m sorry, was that my fault?”

“I...” Ren shook his head. “I don’t think so? He said he’d be back, and he seems REALLY determined... we’ll just have to wait.” 

The others nodded. Ann looked at the flushing council president and scratched her head with wide eyes. “But wow, Makoto... that was intense.”

Makoto shrugged and brushed a lock of hair back. “I said what was pent up is all... may have gone overboard. Sorry.”

Ryuji approached Makoto hesitantly. “Did it feel good?” he asked, and stammered nervously as she turned to him. “Hold up, I’m not criticizin’ you. I’m glad you said all that ‘cuz the rat bastard deserved it. Didn’t know you had all that in you, though.”

Makoto nodded stiffly and crossed her arms. “It did. It did feel good.” She smiled and cracked her knuckles. “Very good.” 

Ann shuddered and scratched her head. “Yet another reminder as to why we should never piss her off...”

“Hot.” Ren whispered under his breath. Morgana groaned. 

“Oh my God, really?” the cat whispered back. The leader cleared his throat and drew the others’ attention.

“I’ll let you know if and when Kobayakawa contacts me again. We still have other business to attend to after school.”

* * *

The sun was still high in the cloudless sky as everyone made a beeline to Leblanc. The summer heat was slowly fading, but the sky had yet to reach twilight as they approached the cafe.

While they had a lot they needed to talk about as they gathered around the table in the attic of Leblanc, there was one topic at hand that was on the top of the list. With some prodding from Futaba and Morgana, Ren braced himself for anger, and told his friends about what his parents had said to him. Futaba followed up with a recording of the conversation.

True to his expectations, his friends were completely and utterly outraged.

Ryuji was shaking with rage that Ren hadn’t seen since they confronted Kamoshida. Ann’s eyes were full of hatred and fury as her clenched fists shook. Yusuke was scowling powerfully, like he had when they first confronted him about Madarame’s crimes. Makoto was shaking, her teeth gritted and her fists clenched. Even Futaba and Morgana were mad at the reminder, and were seething, too.

If one had walked in on the scene with no context, they might have assumed Ren was about to get murdered by five very angry teenagers and a cat.

Ryuji broke the silence first. As per usual, his voice was loud and shaking with anger. “Those motherfu—” He covered his mouth and bit back a scream before he settled for whole-body shaking. “Your parents are assholes! God, just hearin’ this pisses me off! ‘Hallucinations’ and ‘tough love’...?! That’s bullshit! Why can’t they just accept what you can do?! It’s obviously true and they’re idiots for pretendin’ it ain’t!”

“What he said.” Ann hissed. “This makes me sick... how could they deny it when it’s so obvious...? What sort of parents ignore their child for so long and think it’s okay?!” She shook her head. “God! I want to slap some sense into them!”

“It’s because they can’t accept that you’re different, right?” Makoto said bluntly, shaking with anger. “They should know... it’s because they can’t cope with having a son that’s different. That’s on them, not you, and they’re completely in the wrong for neglecting you for so long and trying to come back like nothing happened!”

“You parents are fools,” Yusuke spat bitterly, “fools who ignore what’s in front of them because they fear what they do not understand. I am so sorry that you have to deal with their ignorance.” Ren was startled as Yusuke swung his hands forward and gripped him by the shoulders. An intense, frightening look was in his eyes. “Never, ever, EVER forget that you carry the most beautiful and honorable of gifts, no matter what they say to you. YOU are the reason my mother is finally at peace and resting.” He pulled away and crossed his arms. “We should endeavor to change your parents’ hearts.”

“Yeah!” Ryuji pulled his phone out of his pocket. “What’re their names? I can check for ‘em now.”

“They’re Mementos hits.” Ren sighed, making everyone freeze. “I checked awhile ago.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Ann questioned, wide eyed. “We would have been happy to help you with this right away.”

Makoto suddenly sobered and looked down for a moment before she looked back up at Ren sympathetically. “... It’s because they’re your parents. Your family.” She sighed and shook her head. “It’s... hard, especially when you know they’re not completely evil.” Her voice cracked. “It’s terrifying to think about fighting the ones you love. Am I right?”

Ren swallowed hard. His throat suddenly felt very dry. “... Yes.” he admitted glumly. He sighed and stiffened,then sat up straight and scratched the back of his neck. “I’m sorry. I know that as the leader that I need to pull myself together.”

“Don’t apologize.” Ann interrupted gently, clasping one of his hands. “It’s completely understandable. I can’t even imagine what it’d feel like if I had to change my parents’ hearts...”

“It’s not pleasant.” Yusuke murmured, his eyes darkening. He looked up at Ren with a frown. “Its a very personal and stressful experience. However, if you would allow me, I would like to return the favor and be there for you when you need it.” His eyes hardened. “I’m sorry, but I need to be as blunt with you as you were once with me. You are being abused, and this cannot stand. While we cannot force this, I feel very strongly that we should change their hearts.”

Ryuji grumbled and scratched his head. “Damn...” He sighed heavily. “Well, man, I... I get that it’s a personal thing, but... I agree.” His eyes narrowed. “I agree, big time. They’re never gonna give you peace if we don’t until you can cut ‘em out of your life as a adult, and as your friends, we especially can’t tolerate the abuse.” He nodded firmly. “We won’t force nothin’, but... yeah. I really, REALLY think we need to do this. I can’t— I don’t want to just sit back and watch them keep doin’ this to you.”

“I will, but...” Ren shrugged, his hands tucked in his pockets. He took a deep breath. “Okay. I hate this, but... you’re right...” He nodded. “After the next Palace. I want some time to mentally prepare myself for this.” The boy shared a knowing look with Makoto, who nodded quietly. Morgana sighed, sounding a bit disappointed. 

“We understand; that’s a big personal decision, but you should think about it seriously. If you decide you want to go after them sooner, you just have to say the word, and we’ll do it.”

“I will.” Ren groaned and scratched his head. “Oh, trust me, I will.” He crossed his arms and cleared his throat. The boy looked away shamefully, drawing more worried looks. 

“Somethin’ else wrong?” Ryuji asked anxiously. Ren looked up briefly and shrugged before looking away. 

“It’s... it’s stupid, but... I’m... I’m really not crazy, right?”

“WHAT?!” Ryuji blurted. He gave him a baffled look. “Why in the hell would you ask that?! Of course you ain’t crazy!”

Makoto scowled. “This is about how they called it hallucinations, isn’t it?”

“... Yeah.” Ren muttered. “I... know it’s not, but when they talk to me like that, sometimes... I wonder if it’s all somehow really just hallucinations. If they’re right, and I’m crazy. I know I’m not, but I have this irrational worry...”

“Don’t be absurd.” Yusuke snapped. “I felt the wave of energy as my mother passed on, and the precise location of the money beneath the floorboard... there is no way you would have known if she hadn’t told you.” He shook his head and scoffed. “This is akin to asking if we don’t have Personas just because we can’t see and summon them in the real world. We know very well that no matter how odd it may seem, it’s the truth.”

“Plus the fact you knew ‘Buchi cop time.’” Makoto interjected. “I stopped saying that to him when I was 8, and there were never any recordings of it. There is no way you could have known without talking to him directly. Then there were the Mementos targets...”

“And then my mom.” Futaba huffed, hugging her knees. “‘Remember that black coffee saves you at midnight’... plus the fact we literally all saw her in the Metaverse plus the fact she _told us_ you can see her.” 

Ren reddened as they all stared at him. 

“So stop doubtin’ it,” Ryuji concluded firmly, “because it’s true and you damn well know it. Honestly, at this point, if you seriously tried to tell us it’s all just hallucinations, we’d think you’re crazy for that.” 

“For real.” Ann agreed. She sighed. “But it shows how much they’ve hurt you and messed with you to the point that even you doubt it from that.”

Ren shook his head. “Sorry again. I know it’s real, but... Ah, it’s stupid. Sorry.”

“Stop apologizing. You don’t need to feel bad for having emotions; you’re our friend as much as you are our leader.” Morgana snapped. He met his eyes. “You. See. Ghosts. Whether you like it or not, and no matter how long it takes, we’ll drive it into your mind that this is both very real and a permanent part of who you are.”

“They’re right.” he heard Wakaba from behind. The boy yelped and fell forward, crashing onto the table as the ghost startled him. He nearly fell on Morgana, who growled and hopped away. 

_“Isshiki-saaaan!”_ Morgana whined as Ren sat up and clutched his chest, turning around to stare wide-eyed at the giggling ghost. “He almost fell on me!”

“Maybe if he didn’t get so spooked when I show up... you think he’d be used to it by now.”

Ren pouted. “No one said you have to pop up behind me like that! Jesus Christ!”

Ryuji burst into laughter and pointed at him. “Hah! She got you!” He grinned a shit-eating grin. “And you...”

_ “Ryuji.” _

“You look like you...”

“Ryuji, I swear to God, _don’t say it.”_

“You look like you... just saw a ghost.” 

Loud groans came as Ren shoved his face against the table. Futaba punched his side and Ann flicked his forehead, though neither stopped him from laughing like an idiot. Wakaba herself laughed and sighed as they began to calm down.

“Well, I hope that convinced you, young man.” Her expression steeled. “Now... you’re here to talk about Kobayakawa, yes?”

Ren flinched, as did the entire team. “How did you—”

“Did you think I wouldn’t hear how he died the same way I did?” She crossed her arms, and her eyes hardened. “I’m not a fool. I know you’re investigating the mental shutdowns.”

Ren blanched. “But—”

“I know you kids. You were never going to leave it be.” She scowled. “Well... I don’t like it. At all. But I suspect nothing I say is going to stop you, is it?”

Ren turned to the group and shared what she said. All went white in the face, save for Futaba, who just scowled and nodded.

“We have to do this, Mom, and you know exactly why.” she protested. “We can’t suffer mental shutdowns because our Shadows are always with us as our Personas. We have these powers for a reason... and someone needs to stop the perpetrator.”

Wakaba grit her teeth. “Do you know what kind of danger you’re all putting yourselves in?! My kids are throwing themselves into the jaws of death!”

“We do that even outside of the mental shutdown investigation.” Ren retorted. He shrank back as she turned her intense gaze on him, but he sat up straight almost immediately. “Please, Isshiki-san... have some faith in us.” He shrugged. “Besides, they’re probably already after us as it is. If anyone is going to stop and catch them in the act and live, it’s going to be us.”

Wakaba was silent. She stared over the group in silence as they all looked up where Ren was looking. 

After a long pause, Wakaba squeezed her eyes shut and put a hand to her forehead. A sharp exhale escaped her.

“... Include me in your meetings from now on so I make sure you don’t do anything stupid.” she finally grumbled. Ren turned to the others to tell them the news before turning back to her with a curt nod.

“It’s a deal.”

“Good.” Wakaba crossed her arms again. “So. Tell us what happened with Kobayakawa.”

He nodded and jumped into the story. With a little effort, he quickly summarized what had transpired with Kobayakawa’s spirit at school, not wanting to linger on the subject. 

“... So, yeah,” Ren finished explaining, “that’s what happened.”

Futaba looked mildly frightened while Yusuke looked fascinated as Makoto sighed glumly. “I feel a little bad yelling at him, but only because this will set back our investigation... he left, after all. We need more information.”

“He’ll be back.” Morgana scoffed. “Besides, we needed to make it clear who was in charge, and it certainly wasn’t him. He was just going to keep whining until you said what you did.”

Yusuke sighed longingly. “I wish I could have been there to see it. It sounds inspiring.”

“Sounds scary.” Futaba muttered from behind her laptop screen at the table they all gathered around. Ann hummed nervously from where she sat, her leg bouncing.

“Still... he did mention that he was murdered. Not suicide, but murder.”

“Whoever he was working for eliminated him.” Yusuke summed up. He shook his head, a hand on his hip. “We’ll have to wait for him to return so we may hear from him who he was working with. Still, it disturbs me to know that most believe it to be a mere suicide.”

“For real.” Ryuji agreed as he held his phone up. “People are talkin’ online about how he had it coming, and praising us, though no one online has blamed us yet.”

“We’ve only gotten more popular, if anything.” Futaba said, looking up from her screen. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “Loads of comments. People are putting more faith in us than any authorities.”

Ann shook her head and ran a hand through one of her pigtails, looking down. “There’s even merchandise of us, too... it’s scary. I didn’t know we’d be this big a deal...”

“Agreed.” Ren sighed. He crossed his arms. “Even so, we have to keep laying low and remaining cautious. We can’t lose our heads over this— we operate based on what we think is right, not what the public is hounding us to do.” 

“Indeed.” Yusuke said with a firm nod. “Well said, as expected of our leader.”

Wakaba smiled. “That’s my kids for you. Best in Japan.” She nudged Ren, making him shiver from the contact. “Tell Futaba to share what she found.”

Ren obeyed, and Futaba opened her laptop again to read what she had found. “Niijima has been looking into the mental shutdowns. She’s looking for a thread to tie them all together; some of her notes are speculation, but she’s cited a beneficiary in many of the cases.” She looked up at the others. “One of them, for example, is Kunikazu Okumura, CEO of Big Bang Burger.”

Ryuji frowned and leaned forward. “Okumura...? I swear I’ve heard that name before...”

“He’s number one on the request list on the Phansite.” Makoto said. She crossed her arms. “People are getting impatient online and demanding to know why we haven’t changed his heart yet... but Ren is right. We can’t let them hold too much sway over us.”

“Still...” Ann peeked over the side of the screen. “They’ve only gotten famous in the last few years. There was even a branch in Hawaii.”

Futaba grunted. “The notes say the CEO benefited from resignations of competitors’ executives and scandals.”

“This is too suspicious, though.” Morgana said firmly, scratching behind an ear. “Only one CEO is benefiting from what seems to be accidents. I think it’s natural to suspect he’s the one causing them.”

“Hmm.” Wakaba grumbled, unheard.

The others shared looks. Makoto shrugged. “I get that, but... it might be best to wait until Kobayakawa has cooled down so we can ask him directly.”

“Do we have time for that, if this is the case?” Morgana huffed impatiently. “It works out perfectly for us. He’s top of the list, and he could be the perpetrator. Even if Kobayakawa reveals later he isn’t, we still would have taken out a terrible man.”

“He _does_ have a Palace,” Futaba remarked, “I checked.”

“Then what are we waiting for?!” Morgana cried, standing up. “Let’s figure out his keywords and get to work!”

“Yeah!” Ryuji agreed, putting a fist in his other palm with an excited grin. Yusuke frowned and shook his head.

“Hold on! Are we sure we really want to take this man on so quickly? Are we doing this for the right reasons? We shouldn’t be doing this just to appease the masses...”

“We’re not!” Morgana huffed. “It’s almost certain that he’s involved in the mental shutdowns! We need to do this!”

“Stop right there.”

Ren jerked up and to attention. The others followed him and silenced, too, as Wakaba shook her head. “... Okumura isn’t the target you’re looking for.” she said bluntly. “He doesn’t have nearly enough clout to be pulling the strings on this entire operation, and he’s hardly the only one who’s benefited from the mental shutdowns. There’s not going to be a single target for this case.” 

“Do you know who may have killed you?” Ren asked. She shook her head.

“I have suspicions, but no proof, and have no intentions on letting any of you go on a wild goose chase.” She turned away and looked over her shoulder. “Be patient and wary of everything. Even the Phansite. I’m worried that it’ll just lead you on false routes by the public who has no idea what’s really happening.”

Though hesitant, again he shared what was said with the group. Frowns and nervous looks were shared while Morgana looked down at the table irritably, his tail swishing back and forth repeatedly.

“Damn it!” he finally cursed as he stood up. “We should still do this Palace! He’s hurting people, and we need a target!”

“Let’s not be too hasty, Mona.” Makoto warned sternly. “She’s right. We need to carefully consider our next act.”

Futaba sighed. “Doesn’t look like we’re going to come to an agreement today...”

“For real?” Ryuji groaned. “I agree with him, but if we’re not makin’ a decision today...”

Morgana hissed to himself and shook his head.  “... Damn it!” He stood up and looked at Ren. “I’m going on a walk. I need to clear my head; I’ll be back before bed.”

The leader frowned, but nodded. “If that’s what you feel that you need... but... just don’t do anything dangerous, alright? We’ll revisit this subject tomorrow when everyone’s calmed down. Don’t go jumping into the Palace by yourself; I don’t want you getting hurt.”

Morgana scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Relax. Who do you think you’re talking to?” He turned away, but gave the group one last look over his shoulder. Finally, he sighed deeply and shook his head. “... I’ll be back later.” he muttered, and off he ran.

* * *

The meeting adjourned quietly after Morgana left, leaving Ren listless as he tried to occupy himself as he waited for Morgana to come back. He studied, made stacks of infiltration tools, and even managed to finish reading a book. By the time he closed the book’s cover, the sky had gone as dark as it could for a Tokyo night drowned out by city lights. The normally noisy streets were relatively quiet outside, save for the occasional sound of rustling of a stray cat. 

He checked the time on his phone and frowned nervously. His heart was fluttering— where was Morgana, he wondered, again and again. Ren began to run through the worst possible scenarios in his head— hit by a car, kidnapped, stuck in the Metaverse, dead—

Well. Not dead. He reasoned he probably would have seen him by that point if he was dead. That was some small consolation. He laid in bed, wide awake as he stared at the glow-in-the-dark stars he had attached to the rafters of his attic. 

Someone knocked on the door downstairs. It started quietly, then grew loud enough for him to take notice as whoever it was pounded on the door. As he jumped out of bed, he wondered if it was Morgana, but realized that there was no way for a cat to make that much noise by knocking.

Still, he hurried down— and as he turned on the lights downstairs, he could see a girl peeking in through the window in the door, holding a black lump in her arms. His eyes widened and he hurried for the door as the girl stopped knocking and waited as he unlocked the door and opened it, finally getting a good look at his visitor.

The girl had fluffy, chestnut hair and a simple, polka dotted green dress. In her arms was Morgana, dirty and scratched up as he looked up dazedly at Ren and smiled weakly. 

“You’re Amamiya-kun, correct?” the girl asked, her voice high-pitched and gentle. “Morgana-chan told me to bring him to you here in Yongen.”

Though he had a million questions, he focused on Morgana, horrified. “Oh my God, what happened to you?!”

Morgana groaned. “... Did... the stupid thing you told me not to do... didn’t go well...” He groaned and shook his head. “I’m actually okay... managed to cast a.. a weak healing spell on myself before I left. But also...” Morgana looked up at the fluffy haired girl. “She followed me... into the Metaverse by accident... and saved my life.”

Ren looked up at the girl, wide eyed. She met his gaze with similarly wide eyes as she shrugged sheepishly. “I was just... doing what any decent person would do.”

Ren gave a small smile as he took Morgana into his arms. “I think you did a bit more than that. Thank you so much for saving him. I need to clean him up, but if you want, I can brew you some coffee on the house.” 

“That would be lovely, if you don’t mind.” she agreed with a smile. “Let me help you clean Mona-chan up, first, though!”

“You don’t have to—”

“I want to! I’m worried about him.”

Ren looked down at the cat and then her before nodding and stepping back, pushing the door open with his back wide enough to let her in. As the door closed behind him, he set Morgana down on a table (making a mental note to clean it afterwards) and looked back at her. “I’m gonna grab the first aid kit; be back in a minute.” He reddened and bowed his head. “Oh, where are my manners? Yes, I’m Ren Amamiya. Thanks again for bringing him home; I know you have a lot of questions, which I’ll answer after Morgana is helped. What’s your name?”

The girl smiled and bowed her head. 

“My name is Haru Okumura.”


	27. Returning the Favor

Morgana moaned and groaned in pain as Ren and Haru tended to his wounds. Even so, the cat didn’t protest; he resigned himself out of exhaustion and shame as they worked. 

When they were done, Morgana looked between the two and nodded wearily. “Thanks... and I’m sorry, Ren. That was an idiotic move on my part; I was just so sure we’d be doing that Palace next and wanted to case the place before we entered.”

Ren shook his head. “I’m just glad you’re okay. I think you learned your lesson.” He turned his eyes to a still wide-eyed Haru. “Thank you again for saving him, but how did you get in and out safety? I would have assumed the Shadows would have killed you on sight!”

The girl shrugged as she put her hands in her lap. “They didn’t attack me... they identified me as ‘President Okumura’s’ daughter, and left me be.”

Ren’s brows lifted. “Holy... so, you’re really a part of THAT Okumura family?”

“The very same.” she sighed. “I’m the daughter of the man at the top of the Phansite.”

Morgana laughed tiredly. “What luck on our part... at least one good thing came of this...”

Ren looked between her and Morgana, bewildered. Finally, he cleared his throat and stood up.

“I’ll brew us some coffee.” he said. Haru glanced around the cafe curiously as he got up and started preparing the coffee.

“Mona-chan was telling me about you on the way here... you really live in a cafe.” She smiled. “That must be wonderful.”

“Heh.” Ren shrugged as he prepared a cup. “It’s grown on me. It’s not much, but it’s home.” He looked up at her and squinted. “I’m sorry, but have I seen you before? I swear you seem familiar...”

“We met very briefly in Hawaii,” she clarified, “and we both go to Shujin Academy. You’ve probably seen me there.”

Ren winced as he began pouring water. “Shujin Academy, huh...” He looked down at the cup wearily. “Well, you’ve... probably heard of me, then.”

“Mona-chan told me about your background.” Haru explained. She frowned pityingly at him. “I’m terribly sorry I haven’t made your acquaintance so far. Don’t worry, I don’t put any stock into those ridiculous rumors.”

He smiled shyly. “Well... thanks. I appreciate that.” He brought her her cup of coffee and set a plate of cat food in front of Morgana, who quietly began eating his supper as Ren took his seat opposite Haru with his own cup of coffee. He looked between the cat and her and anxiously toyed with a lock of hair. “Uh... how much did he explain to you?”

“He said you’re part of the Phantom Thieves.” she admitted bluntly. “Oh, please don’t be mad at Mona-chan! He truly was confused and tired and I promise I’m not going to tell anyone!”

Ren turned back to her, quirking an eyebrow as he leaned his elbows against the table. “Well... so much for that secret. I suppose it can’t be helped, given you were pulled into the Metaverse and rescued one of our own. I’ll trust you for now.”

“Thank you.” Haru shrugged and brushed her hair back a bit. “Um... if it’s not too much trouble, can you please explain what that place was and what it has to do with my father? I won’t tell him.”

Ren hesitated, to which Morgana sighed. “Give it up,” he huffed, “she’s seen too much and heard too much.”

“I know I seem suspicious, given my relationship with the man on the Phansite,” Haru piped up anxiously, “but... I swear I truly mean no harm. I’m actually the one who put his name up in the first place...”

“Heh,” Morgana muttered, “Ren can relate to wanting a parental change of heart... plus, we’ll need her to get through the Palace.”

Ren gave the cat a befuddled stare. “How so? She doesn’t have a Persona, does she?”

“No, but...” Morgana grunted. “I didn’t get far because there were this specially locked doors that only open for certain people. I actually got attacked in front of one while I was trying to figure out how to bypass it.” He turned to her. “When she picked me up and got close to the door, it opened. She’s our key in; we need to take her with us.”

“... But she doesn’t have...” Ren gave her a long, considering look. After the pause, he closed his eyes and exhaled sharply. “... Oh, fuck it. I’ll explain, if Morgana trusts you.”

With that, he dove into the clearest explanation of everything he could. To his surprise, Haru just sat quietly and listened, eyes wide and shaking with excitement as he recounted their adventures and explained the Metaverse and Personas. 

“... and there you have it.” Ren said with a shrug. “A lot of weird stuff. We’d appreciate it if you kept quiet about this, please— in exchange, I’ll get our team to agree to change your father’s heart.”

Haru’s eyes lit up, and she beamed. “Really?!” He nodded, and she squealed as she stood up and threw her arms around him. He gasped for breath under the force of her startlingly strong arms. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“Y—You’re welcome,” Ren stammered as she pulled away, “but just one caveat: if Mona’s right, we’d need your help.” He frowned and clasped his hands together. “You’d be putting yourself in a lot of danger. I don’t know how I feel about—“

“I don’t care.” Haru said firmly. She held up her phone, revealing the Metanav, much to his shock as his eyes widened. “If you don’t take me, I’ll— I’ll go in by myself anyways!”

Morgana stood up shakily and turned to face a dumbstruck Ren. “... She came out of the Metaverse with it. I believe this means that she not only can come with us... it means she has the potential to become a Persona user.” 

“And I want to be one!” Haru insisted firmly. Ren held his hands up.

“Slow down, there. Why do you want to change your father’s heart so bad? Why are you so eager?”

The girl deflated in an instant. Her expression grew morose as she sighed heavily. “My father is exploiting his workers, involved somehow in the mental shutdowns... and he’s trying to marry me off to a creep I don’t love for political reasons.” she explained bluntly. Ren blinked.

“Oh.” he said simply. Haru looked down at the tabletop glumly before looking back up at him and nodding.

“He didn’t always used to be this way. He was always a stern man, but he was tempered by love. However... he’s lost sight of what’s really important. I want to fix that.” She sniffled. “... I want my old father back...”

“And there you have it.” Morgana agreed wearily. “Ren... this isn’t about what the public wants anymore. This is about saving the girl who saved me. We owe her, and if she’s got the potential, we could use another Phantom Thief...” 

Ren looked at the cat, then back at Haru. “Okay.” he acquiesced hesitantly. “Listen, we’ll talk about this tomorrow during our meeting. Come join us; we meet up in that attic.”

“I’ll be there!” Haru affirmed proudly. Ren yawned and checked his phone. He winced. 

“Jeez, it’s late... the trains have probably stopped running.” He looked up at her. “If you don’t mind, you could stay in my guardian’s house for the night? Tomorrow is Sunday, so...”

Haru hummed nervously and put a hand on her cheek. “I don’t want to impose...” 

“You’re not imposing.” Ren promised as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. A brief call later, and Sojiro came, baggy-eyed and yawning, but he came all the same. Behind him was Wakaba, looking curiously at the newcomer.

As Sojiro eyed the empty cups, he sighed and shook his head at Ren.

“I thought I raised you with better manners than this, Ren,” he scolded, “next time offer to get our guest some curry, too!”

* * *

Haru spent the night over at Sojiro’s houseand had what she called a remarkably peaceful slumber, given everything that happened. She felt safe, she said over morning curry and coffee served by Sojiro.

“This is delicious, Sakura-san,” she said, beaming, “thank you so much for the hospitality.”

“Thank you for bringing our cat back.” Sojiro said gratefully, a hand on his chin as he looked down at the cat snoozing on one of the barstools. He scoffed. “Idiot cat. What possessed you to go picking a fight with another cat? Was there a lady cat you were fighting over?”

Morgana gave him the stink eye, earning a chuckle from the man. “Don’t patronize me! I didn’t pick a fight with a cat, and secondly, my heart belongs to Lady Ann!” He let out a _hmph_. “And if I had, I certainly wouldn’t have lost so miserably!”

Sojiro reached out and scratched the top of the cat’s head, earning an annoyed meow. He shook his head. “Geez... argumentative little guy, isn’t he?”

Ren, Futaba, Haru, and Wakaba alike began to laugh. At the man’s befuddled expression, Ren just shook his head. “You don’t even know, Boss.”

Soon, the rest of the team came to gather upstairs, and as the others filed up the stairs while giving the new girl a curious look, Ren was stopped by Sojiro. The man looked around furtively before speaking in a whisper. “Does she...?”

“No.” 

“Okay, good.” Sojiro patted his shoulder. “That’s all I needed to know. Go spend time with your friends, and remind Okumura-chan that she can stay as long as she wants if she’s afraid to go home.”

Ren smiled and nodded and headed upstairs, where Wakaba as well as the other thieves were waiting. Haru remained the center of attention as Morgana spoke up.

“We should tell you all what’s going on.”

They were brought up to speed, and by the end, all were giving Haru stunned looks or Morgana exasperated looks. 

“You moron!” Ryuji scolded the cat with a frustrated huff. “You coulda died!”

“I’m glad you’re okay.” Ann sighed, wiping an eye. “Don’t do anything like that again.”

“I know.” Morgana admitted shamefully, his ears drooping. “It was reckless and stupid of me, and I’m sorry. I just... wanted to make headway into the Palace.” He turned to Haru with an appreciative look. “But as I said... it wasn’t all bad. She saved my life... and she’s our key into the Palace.” He looked up at the others. “She showed you she has the Nav, and she needs our help. This isn’t about what the public wants anymore— we need to help her like she helped me.”

“That’s the Phantom Thief way.” Futaba remarked. Makoto nodded, though she gave Haru a wary look.

“I’m not objecting, but... can you please tell us why you want us to change your father’s heart? Is there anything other than him abusing workers that makes you so eager? I get the feeling there’s more to it than that.”

Haru nodded, her hands in her lap. “I suppose I owe you all an explanation.” She sighed shamefully, looking guilty almost as she spoke, her eyes half-lidded. “I can’t live with him continuing to abuse and kick others down to make his living, but I have a more personal motive.” She looked up and looked over the group, who stared back at her with quiet, curious looks. Ren and Morgana were the exceptions, nodding to encourage her to continue. The girl took a deep breath and nodded stiffly. “My father is trying to marry me off to a man I do not love.”

“Say what?!” Ryuji gasped. Ann blinked, stunned.

“Married off...?!”

Haru nodded and shook her head mournfully. “It’s a horrible man named Sugimura... the son of an influential politician. My father wants to go into politics, and wants to marry me for political reasons. I’ve become a pawn to him, and he says this is my purpose in life.” She scowled. “I... I don’t want that! I want to live my own life, free of him, and free of that terrible man!”

The others nodded. Anger filled their eyes. “What a piece of shit... we gotta do this.” Ryuji piped up. Yusuke, from where he stood by the bed with crossed arms, nodded firmly. 

“Indeed. This is the heart of why we do what we do, to free those in need. Moreover, I sense a fighting spirit within her.”

“So we’re all in agreement, then?” Ren asked. The group chorused their agreement, and Ren smiled at Haru, who was tearing up and beaming as he nodded. “We’ll do it.”

“You really will!” Haru laughed, bright and crying with relief. “Oh, thank you!” 

“We can also change that rat bastard guy’s heart,” Ryuji added, “you know, the guy your dad wants you to marry. As thanks for savin’ Mona.”

“That would be wonderful, but I wouldn’t want to impose!”

“No imposition.” Futaba reassured. “Phantom Thieves are on the case. You scratch our back, we scratch yours.”

Ren cleared his throat, drawing the others’ attention. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he focused on Haru. “There’s, uh... there’s something we need to address, if you have to come with us so we can proceed through the Palace. If you have the app, you almost certainly carry the potential to have the same sort of powers we do, the power of Persona. You are aware of this risk?”

“I am.” Haru said firmly, her eyes hardening with determination. Ren frowned.

“I figured, but you deserve to know exactly what that entails. What typically happens is the Palace ruler— that is, the ruler’s Shadow, as we’ve explained— will show up at some point and probably piss you off to the point you want to rebel against him and fight. Then your own Shadow will call out to you and, with your consent, begin the process of fusing with you to become your Persona. We call this Awakening.” He met her gaze; she didn’t flinch or back down. “The process is... extremely painful. Not long, rarely more than a minute or so, but it hurts. A lot.”

“It feels like the worst headache of your life turned up to eleven.” Ryuji added. “But in my opinion, it’s _sooo_ worth it.”

“I will endure it.” Haru vowed with a stiff nod. Ren scratched the back of his neck.

“Had a feeling you might say that. Here’s the other thing— at the culmination of Awakening, your mask will appear, and you have to pull it off. That also hurts, a lot. There’s blood.”

“I don’t care. I’ll deal with it.” Haru again affirmed sternly. Looks were shared, and nods came.

“Very well,” Ren started, picking his phone out of his pocket, “then let’s figure out—”

“Aren’t you going to introduce me?” Wakaba finally spoke up, breaking her silence from where she stood behind where Futaba was sitting. Ren froze and gave the ghost a bewildered look. Wakaba just met his gaze with a calm look.

“Ren-kun...?” Haru asked hesitantly. “Are you okay...?”

Ren grimaced and shared looks with his team. A silent conversation was held until Ren groaned and reddened powerfully.

“God damn it,” he griped, shaking his head, “there’s, uh... one more thing you should know, if you’re going to be one of us. I can’t hide it from you at meetings, and it’s an important tool—”

“—gift—” Yusuke corrected.

“—of mine.” He looked away and coughed awkwardly. “And it’s best you hear it from me now than later. It’s just, uh... it’s gonna sound crazy. And it’s a very sensitive secret that few know, and like the rest of our secrets, can’t be shared with anyone.”

“We promise it’s all true!” Futaba piped up firmly. Haru shrugged.

“I’ve seen another world and a talking cat along with supernatural powers. I’ll believe whatever you have to tell me at this point, and your secrets will kept secret. That’s part of being a Phantom Thief, no?”

Ren smiled weakly, scratching his head. “Okay. Well, uh...” He cleared his throat and groaned, wincing. “Oh, fuck it. I see dead people. Ghosts. And no one else here can.” Haru gasped gently, and he flinched, averting his gaze.

“It’s true.” Yusuke spoke up proudly; she snapped her attention to him. “He helped me get closure with my mother and let her move on in peace.”

“And my father,” Makoto added, “he’s still around. He lets me talk to him once a week, and he’s given us targets that were shocked when we caught them because he was the only one who knew what they were up to.”

“Then my mom.” Futaba said, bringing the bewildered girl to her. “She actually appeared in my Palace to tell us all that he can see and hear her in the real world. Plus she attends our meetings. She’s actually with us right now.” Futaba grinned. “Give Haru a pat on the head, Mom!”

Haru felt a cold breeze against her head and yelped, flinching away from it. The girl stared at Ren with an inscrutable expression for several moments. Ren could feel his heart beating out of his chest.

“Amamiya-kun... this is...” The girl beamed, an excited shine in her eyes as she put her hands on her cheeks. “This is _amazing!”_

Ren turned to give her a stunned, wide-eyed stare. “Huh? You’re okay with it?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” she asked, befuddled as she cocked her head at him. She gasped and sat up, ramrod. “Oh! Where are my manners?! Where is Futaba-chan’s mother?”

Ren smiled. “Directly behind Futaba.”

Haru rose to her feet and bowed promptly in the direction Ren gave her. Wakaba gave the girl a bemused smile. “Pardon me for not greeting you sooner... I’m Haru Okumura.”

“Charmed.” Wakaba giggled, putting a hand on her face as she looked at the girl. “I am Wakaba Isshiki. You can call me Isshiki-san or even just Wakaba, I’m not picky.”

Ren translated. The girl stood up and nodded, holding her hands together. “The pleasure is mine, Isshiki-san.” Haru beamed and turned to the others, shaking her head. “My goodness, my whole world’s been changed in less than a day! I never would have imagined all of this would really exist, but I’m so happy it does!” 

“I’m honestly shocked you’re this okay with it.” Ren said bluntly. Haru frowned.

“Why wouldn’t I be? Compared to a talking cat and another world, ghosts are nothing...”

Ryuji jerked a thumb in Ren’s direction and scowled. “This guy’s got trauma. His parents are rat bastards who keep telling him that he just sees hallucinations. They even say that we’d all hate him if we found out.”

The girl’s entire countenance changed in an instant. Her fists clenched, and she scowled. For some reason, Ren felt afraid. “How awful! I’d be happy to help join you all in changing their hearts, too!”

“That’s the plan.” Ann said firmly. “As soon as we’re done with your father’s Palace.”

Morgana cleared his throat and stood up. “Speaking of the Palace... I think we have the keywords figured out. Let’s not delay our work.”

* * *

A spaceport. That was Okumura’s Palace.

Joker found himself awed by the scenery of the outside, stars and the dark emptiness of space enclosing a space station straight out of a sci-fi movie. Oracle similarly was awed, poking and prodding at all the futuristic technology while Haru was distracted by the new appearances of the Thieves.

“Your outfits...” she gasped, pulling Joker’s attention away from the cognitive world. The girl was covering her mouth and staring with wide eyes as she took in all of the thieves’ outfits. Her eyes kept flitting between individuals as she took them all in.

“You like it?” Joker teased with his signature mischievous smirk, grasping the edges of his long coat. Haru beamed and bobbed her head. 

“They’re wonderful!” she gasped gleefully. “Will I get one when I get my Persona?!”

“You sure will.” Mona said cheerfully. “It’ll be your image of rebellion.”

“I can’t wait!” Haru squealed in utter delight. “Can I...?” 

Joker nodded and allowed the girl to come closer to touch and examine his coat. Then she darted to look at Queen’s spikes and scarf and Fox’s tail. Panther laughed wearily and hugged herself.

“I hope your outfit is better than mine.” she muttered awkwardly. Haru cocked her head at her.

“What do you mean, Ann-cha— Panther? I like your outfit.” She turned to Queen and smiled. “Especially yours, Queen! The spikes are so cool!”

Queen reddened and shook her head. “Let’s... not talk about that...”

“I agree with her, though.” Joker said, still grinning. Queen scoffed and crossed her arms.

“Of course YOU would say that...”

Joker cleared his throat and stepped forward. The others snapped to attention, Haru included. He clapped his hands together. “Alright, quick strategy meeting. We have a non-Persona user with us, so we have to go slower and carefully. Haru will remain in the back lines; we’ll start with Fox, Panther, and Queen up front. Skull, Mona, you hang back with Haru. We’ll swap people in and out as needed; you all know the drill. Anyone in backup’s job is to keep up with us and make sure Haru stays safe. If and when Haru Awakens to a Persona, Panther, you’ll pull back and let Haru take the fore for her first fight, but after that, infiltration will be over for the day so she can recover. Everyone get the plan?”

Nods and grunts of affirmation. Joker turned to Haru and handed her what appeared to be a smoke bomb. “If you get into life-threatening danger, use this. It’s called a Goho-M. It’ll get you out of danger.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

Joker nodded and stepped back to look over the team. “Alright, I think we’re good to go. Let’s be on our way.”

* * *

Haru watched from the sidelines in awe as Joker deftly jumped behind cover and pounced on Shadows as if they were prey. Again and again, he launched himself onto the shoulders of the robotic Shadow, ripped off the mask, and back flipped off them. As they turned to monsters, the ambush afforded them to opportunity to summon their Personas and knock down the enemies. Within seconds, the enemies would be dead, and they would keep moving. It seemed as natural as breathing to Joker, who always had an excited grin on his face every time he got to show off with a flip or a twirl of the knife or the flourish of magic from one of his many Personas.

Haru watched with bated breath every time. Her heart yearned to join in and fight with them, but she reminded herself to be patient. Being reckless would only endanger herself and others.

Morgana led the group to the door he had almost been killed in front of the previous day. It was sealed tightly, a force field overlaying a heavy but sleek metal door. Above it was a screen with red text as the group approached— _ACCESS DENIED._

“Haru, this is your turn to shine.” Mona said proudly. The girl nodded and stepped forward as the others stepped back, allowing her to approach the door. She stopped and looked up at the screen. The screen cleared and shifted to a yellow _AUTHENTICATING_... and finally to a green _ACCESS GRANTED_. The door opened, andthe others beamed as Haru squealed in delight and turned to the others.

“I did it!”

“You sure did. Great job, Haru.” Joker praised, patting her shoulder. It made her heart swell with pride as he nodded along. “Let’s move! Back in formation.”

They went through one more hallway overlooking a cruel production line of cognitive robot employees slaving away and dying— the sight only emboldened Haru more while she felt sick to her stomach. Joker ambushed one more Shadow with the same flair as always, and on they went.

The next room was a large, empty platform room with a view of the stars beyond on the far side of the room. Haru wondered what its purpose was as Joker gave it a cursory look and nodded along. He kept his eyes carefully trained over the room as they slowly proceeded. When they finally reached the door to the next hallway, Haru heard an echoing, familiar voice.

“Haru? What are you doing with those thieves?! Didn’t I teach you not to associate with peasants?”

The group flipped around to see a blue-skinned man with square glasses and a snotty demeanor, swathed in an astronaut’s uniform and a cape flowing behind him. His hands were tucked behind his back as he walked forward, staring at his daughter in disappointment. His eyes glowed golden. 

“Is that him?” Joker whispered. Haru nodded; she took a breath, steeled her expression, and stepped forward, leveling her eyes.

“Father,” she started coolly, “fancy meeting you here.”

The Shadow scoffed. “Don’t play dumb with me, young lady. What are you doing with them?! Get away from them!”

“How rude...” Fox muttered from behind. Haru felt her will waver, but she quickly pulled herself together and took another step forward.

“This is my answer to all your demands and desires, Father.”

The Shadow gave her a baffled look. He looked over the thieves, and his eyes widened. “Oh... are those... the Phantom Thieves?” He beamed. “I see! You’ve lured them to me to ask for forgiveness for your defiance! That’s what I expect of an Okumura— no mercy for anyone you must kick down for your own gain!”

“For real?” Skull groaned. Haru scowled. Her fists clenched.

“What? No! Father, is everything gains and losses to you?! What happened to the man who genuinely cared about serving good food and caring for his employees?!”

“Bah!” the man scoffed and crossed his arms. “I don’t expect you to understand it at your age. You’ll learn one day that there’s no point in trying to help others when all it does is bring you down.” He turned to his left and watched as a young man in a white suit walked up. He had a well-groomed head of red hair and the epitome of a smug smile as he looked over Haru as if she was a piece of meat, a hand on his chin. Haru gasped and recoiled back. 

“Sugimura?! What is he doing here?!”

“Don’t panic,” Mona piped up, “that’s not the real Sugimura. That’s just a cognition.”

“But damn,” Skull grumbled, “I’m getting real asshole vibes from this guy. I’ve only seen him for a minute and I already wanna kick his ass.”

“Agreed.” Queen muttered; her fingers clenched around her brass knuckle handles. 

“Same.” Panther hissed, reaching for her whip. 

Okumura seemed oblivious to their whispering and nodded at Sugimura. “Don’t mind her behavior; she’ll settle down eventually.”

“Just like breaking a horse, hmm?” Sugimura sneered. “I can work with that, but she seems... difficult.”

“Then take her as a mistress,” Okumura said with a wave of the hand, “whatever you want so our family’s deal can go forward.”

Sugimura grinned as Haru gaped at her father. “That will do.”

“F—Father!” she gasped. She glared at him, anger rising to her throat as her fists clenched. “Even I’m just a commodity to you?! Your own _daughter?!_ You’d sell me to a man who’s going to treat me like nothing more than a sex slave for your own gain?!”

“You’re a piece of shit.” Joker snapped bitterly from behind her. Okumura shrugged.

“Don’t be so dramatic. You’ll be pampered; all you have to do is take it and do as you’re told. You should feel honored to be fulfilling your duty as a daughter of Okumura.” He scoffed. “This is the role of women. You just need to let the men take the lead.”

Haru was shaking with rage as Sugimura nodded. “He’s right, darling,” he chuckled, “just grin and bear it, and you’ll have a life of luxury... be a good girl and do as you’re told.”

“I—” Haru’s face turned red. Tears were beginning to prick out of the corners of her eyes. _“I—”_

“Are you just going to take this?” Joker pressed coolly. Mona nodded.

“Will you do as you’re told and be a willing slave?” he questioned.

“Or will you fight?” Queen demanded. “Is this the future you want? If you want your freedom, you must rebel! Stand up against your oppressors!”

“This is wrong!” Oracle cried. “Get mad! Don’t forgive them! NEVER forgive them!”

Something snapped in Haru. She could feel an ember beginning to burn in her heart and soul as she stood up straight. “... You’re right.” She stomped a foot and glared at her father defiantly. “I— I refuse! I will NEVER submit, never again! I will fight for my own future, not yours!” 

She clenched her fists.

_“This_ is my answer to you!”


	28. Noir

_ At last... _

The group watched as Haru gave a sharp gasp and collapsed to her knees, grasping her head with her hands tightly, propping herself up by her elbows. They knew immediately what was happening as she began to shake. A strange mix of pride and empathetic pain came as they themselves remembered the agony of Awakening, echoes of the same pain resonating within their minds. They all cringed and braced themselves.

_ I see you finally made up your mind... my dear, fated princess. _

Haru curled into a ball and tucked her head in her knees as she shuddered with pain. She gasped deeply for breath, as though she was surfacing after almost drowning.

_ Freedom for you must stem from betrayal. _

Haru bit down her lip, hard. She could taste bitter, coppery blood on the tip of her tongue.

_ If you yearn for it now... then you must not err. _

Haru scarcely held back a scream as she dug her fingers into her scalp and gripped locks of her hair tightly.

_ Now tell me... who shall you betray? _

Her trembling stilled. Her voice was breathless but defiant. “My heart has been set... you should know.”

Her hands were set down. She looked up with golden eyes to stare in defiance at her father and fiancé.

_ Yes, that gaze...! I am Thou, Thou Art I! Let us adorn your departure into freedom with a beautiful betrayal! _

And the pain was gone, replaced by a simple but elegant black mask taking its place on her face. Haru rose to her feet calmly as if she hadn’t just been in the worst pain of her life and gripped the sides of the mask. With a hard tug on both sides, it came loose with a spray of blood as she called her other self’s name.

_ “Milady!” _

A plume of blue fire enveloped the girl, and a strong gust of wind blew from the fire in all directions. Within seconds, it settled down, revealing a transformed Haru. The best way Joker could describe it was a pink, feminine musketeer outfit. Upon her head was a feathered black hat with a wide, pointed brim similar to what Joker would imagine Robin Hood’s cap to be. A white cravat surrounded her neck, and a belt of what he believed to be grenades hung around her waist. Behind her was her Persona, a tall, elegant figure of a lady with no head, holding a masquerade ball mask to where her face would be. A fan was held delicately in the other hand. Upon the Persona was an elegant pink ball gown, the front of which parted to reveal an almost cartoonish number of guns that primed, ready for firing.

_“Geez!”_ Skull yelped as he stepped back and gaped at the new Persona. Haru reached for the tip of her hat and turned her head to the side, closing her eyes.

“Farewell, dear father...” She turned her head up to glare at him and threw her other arm out, pointing at him accusatorially. “I am no longer your subservient puppet!”

Okumura scowled and pointed back at her. “Then so be it. You’re worthless.” He turned away and waved dismissively. “Deal with her however you like.”

The cognition laughed and put his hands on his hips before the same burst of red and black energy flowed over the cognition. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a large, bulky robot, painted white with his outfit and red hair with an antenna atop an emotionless yellow visor for eyes.

”I’ll toy with you until you break!” the cognition mocked in a robotic yet still smug voice. Haru lifted up the ax that had formed in her Awakening and grinned defiantly.

“Why, I think I’ll do the same to you.” She turned to the team. “Shall we?”

“We shall.” Joker said proudly as the team charged forward to her side, twirling his knife in his hands. Mona laughed with his usual smug pride, swinging his falchion over his shoulder as he pointed at the cognition with his other paw.

“We are the Phantom Thieves... here to take your bride!”

* * *

The psychic powers of Haru’s Persona played the biggest role in the fight that ensued, knocking down the cognitive fiancé repeatedly to allow consistent all-out attacks. Joker could see how the girl threw herself into battle with an excited grin and fire in her eyes. She took joy in causing the enemy pain and smirked at a final plea for mercy that fell on deaf ears. Joker found it a bit frightening, in a good way. She was perfect Phantom Thief material.

When the fight was over, Haru gasped and steadied herself by shoving the blade of her ax to the ground and leaned against the handle with exhausted breaths. In and out, she breathed laboriously, and she smiled as she heard the others gather around, shouting praises.

“That was incredible!”

“You did it!”

“You took it like a real champ!”

“Way to go, Haru!”

“How elegant...!”

“You did great, Haru.”

Haru laughed and beamed. “Yes, I did, didn’t I? Ooh!” She leaned forward and shook her head. “That... that felt so good, fighting Sugimura...” She blanched. “Wait, is he—“

“He’s fine,” Mona reassured, “that was just a cognition. It’s like you beat up an ultra-realistic doll, but nothing more.” He laughed. “More importantly, you did it! You Awakened your Persona!”

“I did!” Haru said, tearing up as she beamed, then shuddered, and turned to Joker. “Goodness gracious, you weren’t exaggerating about the pain; it was excruciating. However, I agree with Skull. It was very much worth it, and I’d do it again if I had to.” She looked down at the ax and back up at Joker. “I feel... complete. There’s an emotional clarity I never would have imagined possible.”

Joker nodded. “That’s part of being a Persona user. I doubt I would have come out to my friends about my secrets without it.” He winced at her equipment. “That looks heavy, and you’re wiped out from the Awakening... come on. Let’s get you back to the real world; just let us help.”

“Hang on,” Oracle interrupted, “she needs a codename, doesn’t she?”

“I’ve already got one.” Haru said proudly. “You can call me Noir!”

“... Noir?” Skull questioned, cocking his head to the side. Noir shrugged.

“It’s French for ‘black.’” she explained. “I chose it because the Phantom Thieves are on the darker side of the law.”

“I like it.” Queen agreed, a hand on her chin with an appreciative smile. “Simple, yet elegant and refined. I think it’s perfect.”

“‘Noir’ it is.” Joker affirmed. “Welcome aboard, Noir. Now, let’s go home.” 

Noir nodded and shakily forced herself to stand straight as Skull took her ax for her and Fox lifted a grenade launcher that had also been formed in the Awakening. “Thank you.” she breathed. Oracle whistled and lifted her mask up and onto her head.

“You’re taking the post-Awakening knock-back like a champ. I was practically in a coma after my Awakening.”

Noir smiled wearily. “I’ll endure it; I need to go home. I’m just lucky I can call a chauffeur.”

“Wow... lucky.” Panther murmured as they began walking out. “I remember walking home after leaving the train station was hell after my Awakening. I would have killed for a ride all the way home...”

“Same.” Skull said before jerking a thumb in Joker’s direction. “At least we didn’t have it as bad as this poor guy. He Awakened his Persona to save me, and then we had to escape the dungeon of Kamoshida’s Palace. His Persona and outfit kept fadin’, I think ‘cuz he was tired. Then we had to go to school, and you knew how shitty that was for him, especially in the beginning. Finally, after all that he had to drag his ass home all the way to Yongen.” He patted Joker’s shoulder. “You took it like a champ, though.”

Joker shrugged and smiled at Noir. She could feel her heart skip a beat. “Just like Noir, here. Sort of. I think.”

“Joker, how are you still alive?” Oracle asked incredulously. Joker shrugged.

“Spite, mostly.”

As the team snickered and chattered, Noir felt right at home— the most she ever had felt that way.

* * *

Though she had some misgivings, Haru decided it was best to go home for the night. They had school the next day and didn’t want her father to be angrier than he inevitably already was. She felt dread and exhaustion in equal measure, but steeled herself and went home anyways. Several of the other Phantom Thieves had offered to come with her, and Sakura-san reaffirmed his doors were open, but nevertheless she went home.

As expected, her father was waiting in the living room, on the couch. He was on the phone as he usually was, but ended the call not long after Haru made her appearance.

“What were you thinking last night?” he demanded as he stood up. Haru clasped her hands in front of herself and steeled her expression. Milady made it easier than ever to do so; Haru found it nigh impossible sometimes when her father was upset, but no longer.

“I explained by text,” she said calmly, “I recognized a friend’s cat. It had gotten into a fight, so I took the cat home to him. By that point, it was very late; the trains had stopped running and I didn’t want to wake the chauffeur. So I took up his guardian’s offer to stay the night.”

Okumura shook his head. “Why waste your time on a cat? Especially one that’s not even yours?”

“Because it was the right thing to do.”

Her father stared at her, unimpressed. After a moment, he exhaled sharply and put a hand to his forehead. “Haru, how many times do I need to tell you not to worry so much about other people? You need to look out for our family’s interests before anything else.” He scowled. “Also, how and why do you just casually happen to have a MALE friend when you’re engaged? If you two—“

“Father, he’s already got a girlfriend that isn’t me, and he’s very faithful to her.” She cleared her throat. “His... father owns a small cafe. He helps him out, and I sometimes enjoy visiting the cafe because their coffee is quite good, so we sometimes chat. He’s a very nice boy.” She frowned, irritated. “The point is, you don’t need to be concerned about him. I didn’t even sleep in the same building he does; he sleeps in the attic above the cafe.”

“Hmph.” Okumura huffed. “Don’t do this again. Wake the chauffeur and get a ride home, and from now on, I want you to stop associating with that boy.”

Haru scowled. “Why?”

“Do you know how it would look to be seen with a boy your age that isn’t your fiancé?” he snapped. “You owe him nothing.”

Haru glowered at him, silently bowed her head, and walked away. Okumura watched her go and shook his head. “What was the name of that cafe...” he muttered to himself. “Leblanc?... I should go have a little chat with them.”

* * *

The next day wasn’t an infiltration day. Ren decreed that Haru should have a day to recover before they resumed exploring the Palace, though the girl had objected. The boy managed to persuade her to rest with the promise of infiltration the following day. 

While he planned to try fixing a laptop he had bought in Akihabara, Leblanc was surprisingly busy when he got home. Sojiro almost immediately asked for help, which he complied with. After about an hour or two, the rush was over. The cafe was cleared out, and the two quietly cleaned up in the aftermath. Ren remained at the sink cleaning dishes while Morgana napped on the stairs to his room, enjoying the shadowy, quiet corner of the cafe.

Eventually, he heard the bell above the door jingle, but he quickly dismissed it as he heard Sojiro address the customer.

“Welcome. What can I get you?”

“Whatever you recommend.”

Ren froze as he recognized the impatient, haughty voice as belonging to Haru’s father. He looked over his shoulder to see the man— the real one, anyways— sitting at the counter and staring right at him. The boy immediately returned to washing the dishes, acting as though he had merely been looking to see the customer who came in. At the very least, Sojiro didn’t seem to recognize him as he prepped a cup of coffee as though nothing was off.

Ren wondered why the man was there, but kept quiet and remained listening. The man didn’t speak again until he tasted his coffee. Okumura’s eyes widened a bit as he pulled the cup away from his lips. A brief look of nostalgia was in his eyes before being quashed under the same cold, calculating look as always. 

“The coffee is excellent,” he said casually, “I can see why my daughter likes this place.”

Sojiro’s eyes widened slightly. “Oh. Are you Okumura-chan’s father?”

“I am.” He cleared his throat. “I apologize for my daughter imposing herself on you.”

Sojiro shook his head. “She didn’t impose. We were happy to have her; she’s a very sweet girl, and we owe her one for saving our dumbass cat.”

“Who are you calling a dumbass?!” Morgana yowled from the staircase. Sojiro snorted and shook his head.

“Oh, go back to sleep, cat.” He ignored the insulted meow that followed as he turned back to Okumura. “Anyways, Haru’s welcome here whenever she’d like. She’s a delight to have.”

“About that...” Okumura frowned. “She isn’t to stay overnight outside of the house again. If she comes by, give me a call at this number.” He held out a business card. “I’ll have someone pick her up.”

Sojiro frowned, raising an eyebrow. “Okay... do you mind if I ask why?”

“It’s none of your concern.” Okumura said brusquely. “And you. Kid.”

Ren stiffened and turned around, wiping his hands on a towel. “Yes, sir?”

“Come here.” he beckoned sternly. Ren hesitated for a second before approaching Sojiro’s side.

“How can I help you?” he asked coolly. Okumura crossed his arms.

“I want to make sure you’re not spending too much time with my daughter, and especially want to ensure that you’re not doing anything uncouth. I’d prefer if you stay away from her, given she needs to protect a public image. Furthermore, she’s engaged. She can’t be fooling around with other boys.”

Ren’s nose wrinkled. “Sir, I’m in a committed relationship with someone else, whom I am loyal to. Haru is fully aware of this.”

“Your girlfriend doesn’t mind that you’re friends with other girls?”

Ren shook his head. “No, because she trusts me, and I trust her.”

“Hmph.” Okumura shrugged. “I just need to make it clear to you that she has her reputation to protect, and I know the mind of teenage boys.”

“Okay, timeout.” Sojiro cut in and glared at the man. “I don’t appreciate you coming into my cafe and trying to get tough with my kid.” He crossed his arms. “If Okumura-chan drops by, she’s welcome here. I’m not going to turn her away just because you think you have the right to control her.”

“Don’t lecture me; I know what’s best for her.” Okumura snapped. Sojiro scoffed.

“Oh, I’m sorry, do you not like being lectured after barging into my restaurant to lecture my kid who’s done nothing wrong?” He jerked a thumb toward the door. “I’m gonna have to ask you to leave.”

Okumura stood up and glared at the two. “So be it. If Haru comes back here and you don’t contact me, be ready for legal action. I could send your pathetic little cafe under.”

“Oh yeah?” Sojiro put a hand on his hip, his eyes cold and harsh. His voice was hardened. “We’ll see. Now, get out.”

Okumura scoffed and exited without another word. As the bell above the door jingled as he left, Sojiro sighed and shook his head, putting a hand on his hip. “What an asshole.” He turned to Ren. “If she shows up, let me know. I used to work for the government; I know people in protective services.”

“Will do.” Ren said with a stiff nod. Sojiro huffed.

“Never thought I’d say this, but I hope the Phantom Thieves do go after him. He’s been in the news because he’s apparently on top of the list of people who the public wants a change of heart in.” 

Ren smiled wryly. “Well... it could happen.”

“Yeah...” Sojiro paused and stared at him for a long moment. Ren looked down and shuffled his feet under his gaze. Sojiro frowned. “Wasn’t Yusuke the pupil of that one artist who got his heart changed?”

Ren felt his heart stop for a split second before he nodded with his usual poker face. “... Yes?” he replied with an oblivious tone. Sojiro was silent for a moment before crossing his arms again. 

“You sure know a lot of people who are associated with those Phantom Thief cases...”

“It’s because of... you know.” Ren quickly dismissed. “That tends to lead me to who needs help the most. Like Yusuke, back in May.”

His guardian gave him an odd look before sighing and uncrossing his arms. “... Just be careful, and don’t draw attention to yourself.”

“I’ll be careful.” Ren promised. Sojiro grunted.

“Good. Now...” He tore the business card in half and held out the remaining scraps to Ren. “Do me a favor and go toss this out.”

Ren took the pieces and turned to do as he was told. He began to head to his room, only to stop when he heard his guardian’s voice again.

“Hey,” Sojiro addressed, “I almost forgot to ask you about this. I heard Shujin’s principal died?”

Ren paused and turned around. He nodded. “He did, yes.”

“I see...” He paused and cleared his throat. “Have you... seen him?”

“Mhm.” Ren nodded again. “He’s haunting the school.”

“... Okay.” Sojiro took a breath and put a hand to his forehead. “Jeez... okay. Have you spoken to him?”

“Yes.” Ren sighed and rolled his eyes. “He noticed I was staring at him while he was screaming and crying that no one could see him. At lunch, I brought him to the rooftop and explained his situation. He did not take it well.”

Sojiro scoffed. “Understandable, I suppose... but... didn’t he commit suicide...?”

The tone of his voice told Ren he already suspected that wasn’t the case. Ren shook his head. “No. He said he was murdered. Apparently, he had no intentions of suicide.” His voice lowered. “We think he was probably killed by the same people who killed Isshiki-san.”

Sojiro looked pained as he exhaled sharply. “... Okay. Did he ask you to do anything for him?”

“Nothing yet.”

“Okay, but...” He groaned. “What a pain in the ass... if he comes back and tells you he needs help, let me know before you do anything. Also, if he says anything about avenging him, tell him he’ll have to deal with the fact he’s dead and there’s nothing we can do about it. I’m not going to allow you to put yourself in danger trying to find a serial killer.” He stared at him, hard. “Understand?”

“Understood.” Ren let out a sigh and shook his head. “As far as ghosts go, he’s a pain, but I’ll be firm with him.”

Sojiro snorted and put a hand on his hip. “This is why I really don’t envy you. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate what you can do, especially after all you’ve done for us and Wakaba. That aside, apart from the obvious stressors, you have to talk to dead people as well as living people.” He scoffed and shook his head. “That’s too many people. I don’t know how you handle it.”

Ren gave a small smile and laughed dryly. “I don’t know either, Boss. If I figure it out, you’ll be the first to know.”

* * *

Okumura’s Palace was the worst, Joker decided. The monotonous grays and blues irritated him, as did the nigh-constant sounds of robotic clinking and cranking. In addition, all the robotic cognitions had stereotypical robotic voices— the fact he saw his workers as mere robotic slaves disgusted him. The voices were merely grating on his nerves.

He did at least enjoy flying through space during the airlock puzzles. Most of the others did not share his glee at the thrill of being launched into the vacuum of cognitive space, least of all Fox. They had to stop repeatedly for his sake as he steadied himself against a wall and drank water proffered by the leader. He looked rather green in the face for the majority of the time in the puzzles, as did several other party members. Joker himself felt nauseous a few times, but denied it until Queen forced him to sit down and rest every few jumps. The only ones who seemed truly unfettered by it were Panther, Skull, and Noir.

In fact, very little seemed to faze Noir.

Noir insisted on being on the front lines as much as possible, which he acquiesced to, given it was her father’s Palace. He and the rest of the team quickly learned that Noir was brutal and utterly merciless in combat. She even giggled as Shadows pleaded for their lives during holdups. The team found it somewhat disturbing, but let it be as long as her bloodlust remained targeted exclusively toward the Shadows.

Eventually, they reached the Treasure and secured their route after what felt like an eternity of exploration. It was easily the longest Palace that Joker could recall as they marked their infiltration route and adjourned after a short meeting where they agreed to send out the calling card the following day, per Noir’s request.

Ren was distracted most of the next day as he prepared infiltration tools at lunch on the rooftop and hummed idly to himself. The other Phantom Thieves of Shujin Academy gathered up there with him, chatting and reviewing their plans for taking the treasure the next day. Everything seemed perfect and planned, and the oldest hands on the team were calm as they reassured Haru what would happen.

”... Everything’ll be fine as long as we just take the treasure,” Ryuji reassured, “if your dad’s Shadow shows up, we might have to kick his ass to get ‘im out of the way, but as long as the Shadow isn’t killed, he’ll be just fine and have his change of heart.” 

Haru nodded as she looked over the calling card in her hand. “Okay... thanks. So I just... put this on his desk?”

”He’ll read it, and the treasure will materialize.” Morgana affirmed. “Slip it under his door if you’re nervous, but make sure you’re wearing gloves so you don’t leave fingerprints.”

The girl took a breath and nodded, determined. “I’ll do it.” she vowed. Ren grunted as he fiddled with a smoke bomb.

”Great. Just let me know if you need anything.” He stuck his tongue out as he focused on the fuse of the bomb. “Almost...”

_**”AMAMIYA!”** _

Ren shrieked, fell backward, and tossed the bomb as Kobayakawa materialized in front of him and yelled at maximum volume. The bomb flew right through him and was narrowly caught by Ann, who jumped to catch it. The girl took a sharp breath of relief as she wiped off her forehead.

Ryuji burst into laughter as Ren clutched his chest and glared at the ghost, who was wide eyed with horror of his own. “Jesus f— you almost killed me!”

”Kobayakawa?” Makoto guessed dryly. Ren nodded, still gasping for breath as he kept a hand on his chest. Haru gasped gently, a hand over her mouth.

”Is... his ghost... here?”

Ann nodded, clasping the bomb. “Sometimes ghosts pop out of nowhere and scare him half to death.”

”It’s like being jumpscared. It sucks.” Ren gasped as he shakily pulled himself to his feet. “Kobayakawa, what was so important that you felt you had to scare me like that?!”

”I apologize, but I assure you that the situation is dire!” he gasped. “I went and spied for you, and I’ve uncovered something horrible!”

”And that is...?”

Kobayakawa reached out to him, trying to grip his shoulders. As he passed right through him, the man let out a frustrated cry.

“I’ll just tell you!” he snapped. “The ringman is Masayoshi Shido, and he’s plotting to have his assassin kill Kunikazu Okumura—and frame _you!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://juneluxray.tumblr.com/post/619737283938189312/witchesversuspatriarchy-too-much-talking
> 
> This post was influential in the last part of the discussion between Sojiro and Ren.


	29. Fall of the Spaceport

“Ren, what did he say?”

Ren realized he had been staring blankly ahead of himself, completely white in the face as Kobayakawa’s statement sank in. His eyes were wide and haunted.

Another mental shutdown, and the blame would be pushed onto them.

Ren swallowed hard and turned to the others, who were all going pale at his sudden change in demeanor. His eyes fell on Haru, who was clasping her hands together and fidgeting. A wave of guilt struck him as he opened his mouth helplessly.

“Ren,” Makoto spoke up again, snapping him to attention, “if something is wrong, you need to tell us.”

Ren grimaced. “It’s bad. REALLY bad.” He looked at Haru again and almost gave into the temptation to squeeze his eyes shut, but elected to give them his open-eyed attention. “Kobayakawa says... he says the ringleader behind the mental shutdowns is... Masayoshi Shido.”

Ryuji blinked. “Who?”

“He’s a politician who’s running for prime minister this upcoming election.” Makoto answered. She scowled. “This does make sense. If he’s orchestrating mental shutdowns, it would benefit himself and the party he’s forming. He could gain so much power with no traces of his crimes...”

“Then we’ll go after him next!” Ryuji said firmly. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and spoke. ‘Masayoshi Shido.’”

“Candidate found.”

“There we go.” Ryuji put the phone back in his pocket and nodded at Ren. “Don’t panic so much. We’ll take him down after we steal Okumura’s treasure and put an end to this.”

“We have our target ready, then.” Morgana said calmly. “Good work, Kobayakawa, and we’re lucky to have your power, Ren.”

“That’s not the only thing Kobayakawa told me.” Ren huffed grimly. 

“What is it?” Ann pressed. The boy scratched his head and exhaled.

“He said... the next target for mental shutdown is Kunikazu Okumura.” He winced as Haru gave a sharp cry and covered her mouth. “And he intends to use this mental shutdown to pin the murders on us.”

Haru broke into a sob as the others went just as white in the face. Ryuji frowned and turned to Haru.

“H—Hey,” he stammered, “we’ll do everything we can to stop this. If we know ahead of time, we can stop the killer!”

“Father...” Haru sniffled and gave him a desperate look. “You think so...?”

“Kobayakawa, we need more details.” Makoto snapped. “If we’re going to stop this, we need to know everything we can. Do you know who the assassin is? Do you know when they’re planning to strike?”

Kobayakawa shook his head. “Unfortunately, I don’t know the identity of their killer. I primarily listened in on Shido’s conversations, but he never named or met with the killer. He’s very careful not to.”

Ren translated. Morgana groaned, his ears pinning back. “That makes sense... he needs to cover his tracks as best he can, and that assassin is key to his plans. I wouldn’t be surprised if he takes every possible precaution to keep this quiet. We’ll have to catch them ourselves.”

“Which is why we need more information.” Makoto insisted. Kobayakawa nodded.

“Yes, of course... from what I was able to gather, their plan is to kill him after you send the calling card.”

Ren translated and grunted. “So he’s waiting for us to make a move so he can pin the murder on us by having his death follow our calling card... thereby pinning suspicion for all the mental shutdowns onto us.”

“This is bullshit!” Ryuji protested, clenching his fists. “Have we been set up this whole time?!”

“Calm down, Ryuji.” Morgana snapped. “Even if that’s the case, thanks to Ren’s gift, we have a way to derail their plans.”

“Then let’s abort our plans to change his heart.” Haru said quickly, clutching her chest and glaring. “Then they won’t have a reason to kill him!”

Kobayakawa sighed and shook his head. “I wish that was true, but they actually have a plan in the event you don’t go after him. If you don’t steal his heart soon, they will send him a forged calling card and kill him anyways to ensure the plan is a success.”

Ren scowled. “Damn it...” He turned to the others and translated. Haru let out a cry and shook her head.

“N—No! NO! We can’t—“

“Then we’ll have to catch them in the act!” Morgana snapped. “We’ll do everything we can to put a stop to this! We’ll be able to keep our names clear and turn the tables on our enemies!”

“Sorry I don’t have more information for you.” Kobayakawa apologized. He bowed his head. “I’ll return to my duties and glean what I can. In the meanwhile, you all should figure out how you’re going to counteract this. ‘Til we meet again.”

The ghost vanished. Ren took a deep breath and steeled his expression as he turned to the team. He was about to speak when the bell heralding the end of lunch rang and echoed through the school. His clenched a hand and huffed.

“We’re not sending the calling card today. We all need to meet in Leblanc immediately after school; I’ll contact Yusuke and Futaba. Furthermore, I’ll ask Isshiki-san to go get Niijima-san. We could use their input.”

Haru sobbed, but nodded anyways, scowling with angry tears. 

“I’ll punish anyone who dares to attack my father!”

* * *

Haru paced the attic, taking anxious breaths. The others gathered around the usual table, all extremely tense and jumpy. Futaba was aggressively tapping away at something on her phone. Wakaba and Genkei alike stared at the scene, bewildered and horrified in equal measure.

“Shido, huh...?” Futaba murmured. She shook with rage, and her face was red. “I’ll destroy him...”

Wakaba hissed. “I had a feeling... that man was trying to pressure me to give him my research and quit several times. He offered me bribes and threats, but I never yielded.”

Ren shared what she said. Futaba’s gaze hardened. “Then we need to target him. I’ll get my revenge...!”

“I know you’re angry, but we all need to keep calm and think this through.” he snapped. “If we rush into this, we could die.”

“Ren’s right.” Genkei said firmly, putting a hand on his hip. “Much as I wish we could go bash his brains in right now... the man is dangerous to approach.”

Even as Ren translated, the others’ anger didn’t give way to healthy fear. “We should take the fight to Shido himself.” Yusuke snapped. “He has a Palace, does he not? If we change his heart, he’ll reveal the killer and stop their activities.”

“Yes, but...” Makoto grimaced. “They ARE going to target Okumura even if we don’t send a calling card, and soon. If we try to figure out the keywords for Shido’s Palace and rush through it, they make take our silence as an indication that we’re not going to take Okumura’s heart.”

“... Which would lead to the scenario where they forge a calling card and kill him anyways.” Morgana grumbled. “Worse, we don’t even have a set day as to when they might call it quits on us trying to change his heart.”

Haru clenched her fists and stopped, facing the stairway as she bit back a frustrated cry. Genkei cleared his throat, drawing Ren’s attention, as well as the others’ at their leader’s head movement. “I guarantee you that Shido isn’t the only one in on this, either.” Genkei explained. “If you take out Shido, it’s possible that someone else will merely step up and take his place orchestrating the murders for their own interests. You’d have to discern the identities of everyone surrounding him and change their hearts, too, to ensure the entire tower of cards comes crashing down.”

“Which would take up even more time...” Ren grumbled. He shared what Genkei said. The team grumbled as Makoto put a hand on her chin and sighed heavily.

“Much as it pains me... he’s right. Even if we managed to figure out the keywords and change Shido’s heart lightning fast, someone else could step up and continue his plans. We have no idea exactly how big this man’s operation is, and we need time for Kobayakawa to figure out who’s involved.” 

“At least you’re getting some use out of that fucker.” Genkei sneered, crossing his arms. “Karma’s a bitch in the end.”

Morgana cleared his throat and stood up. “Then... I’m sorry, Haru, but this is a hairy situation no matter which was we go about it. Our best shot at saving your father is to try to intercept the assassin in his Palace.”

Futaba nodded. “If we succeed in that, then we’d have to take him— the real Okumura— to the Metaverse immediately afterwards to Awaken his Persona to ensure mental shutdown is impossible.” 

“That means exposing ourselves to him as the Phantom Thieves...” Ann murmured. Haru huffed.

“I don’t care. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” She turned to Ren and stood up straight. “We should edit the calling card to reflect the situation. It may at least throw Shido and his assassin off their game if we reveal that we know they’re trying to kill Father. Perhaps they might even call off their plans if they worry we’ll stop the killer.”

“Great idea.” Ren affirmed. Wakaba hummed nervously.

“It’s also good if you, er... fail to stop the assassin, because it will at least throw a wrench in the efforts to pin the murders on you. But don’t tell Haru that.”

Haru passed Yusuke the calling card. The group gathered around, staring down at it in silence. 

“So how are we gonna word this?” Ryuji asked dubiously. ‘PS, someone’s trying to kill you but we’ll stop them?’”

Makoto sighed. “Another thing is... even if we write something like that, there’s a chance the police— Shido’s cronies, I mean— will merely alter the evidence to eliminate the message. If we want to public to know what’s going on, we need to distribute the calling card publicly.”

“I could publish it all over the Internet, no problem.” Futaba reassured with a wave of the hand. “We just need to scan it before we send it so I have a digital copy... but I have another idea.”

Ren turned his eyes to her. “Oh?”

Futaba shrugged. “Let’s run into the Palace after Haru leaves the calling card on his desk, and wait. I’ll also schedule the public distribution of the calling card to automatically trigger at a certain time, so it’ll go off after we’re already in the Metaverse. If the assassin is going in after the calling card is delivered, then we’d already have a head start waaay before them.”

“You can do all of that?” Haru asked incredulously. Futaba grinned toothily and giggled.

“Who do you think took down Medjed? This will be a piece of cake.” 

Yusuke began rifling through his school bag and hummed to himself. “Just let me fix up the calling card... shouldn’t take me too long.” He pulled out some art supplies and set them down. The boy cracked his knuckles. “So what will be our additional message?”

“Our only goal is to make it publicly known that we KNOW Okumura’s being targeted, yeah?” Ryuji said bluntly. “Why not just be direct?”

Yusuke’s nose wrinkled. “It would clash with the aesthetics...”

The group spent several moments muttering and debating before the final message was decided— as was the fact that they needed a bigger calling card.

_ Sir Kunikazu Okumura, the great profiteering sinner of greed. Your success and global fame exists due to the tyranny you rain over your employees. Thus, we have decided to make you confess all your crimes with your own mouth.  _

_However, this is not the only reason we are coming for you. We have learned that the perpetrator behind the mental shutdowns intends to kill you and blame us for all of their murders. Thus, not only will we change your heart, but we will do everything in our power to save your heart and your life._

_We don’t kill. We would be no better than the people we target, like yourself._   
  
_From,_

_The Phantoms_

* * *

Noir could feel her heart pounding even before the atmosphere grew oppressively tense, heralding that her father had read the calling card.

The group had waited for what was probably about an hour in the safe room closest to where the treasure was. Most of the wait was in silence; attempts to soothe or reassure her failed miserably as she brushed them off. All she could feel was a heady mix of rage and fear as she ran her hands up and down the handle of her ax.

Even in a safe room, the effects of the Palace ruler’s anxiety were palpable when the calling card was read. Joker rose to his feet and clapped his hands together as everyone stood at attention.

“It’s showtime.” he said in a tone far from the cocky tone he usually took when making the declaration. Nevertheless, everyone got in formation and exited the safe room to race to the treasure.

The strong odor of exhaust met their noses as they ran for the treasure, which had warped into a strange orb that flew up and away at their approach and to a UFO-styled spaceship readying for takeoff above. T-minus ten minutes to takeoff, the intercom announced. 

They made a mad dash up ramps and stairs to reach the entryway of the ship, where Noir’s father’s Shadow was slowly walking to the stairs into the ship.

“Father, STOP!” Noir cried, and Okumura came to a stop. He turned around to see his daughter had charged forward ahead of the group. A desperate look was in her eyes as she panted. “Father, please surrender! Someone is trying to kill you, and we need to get you out of here so we can unite you with your real self!”

The Shadow regarded her with an inscrutable expression before falling to his knees on the ground before her. “I— I’ve had a change of heart!” he cried. “Please forgive me, Haru!”

Noir gasped. “Father...” She hesitated, then stepped forward. Mona trailed after her and reached for her hand, stopping her short.

“Don’t be so convinced by this display...” He scowled at the Shadow. “If what you say is true, then surrender the Treasure and go wait for us in Mementos.”

The Shadow didn’t move for a moment. “Oh, Haru...” he said guiltily. “Please have some faith in your father, won’t you?”

Noir hesitated and stopped as Mona swatted her hand, glaring at the Shadow. “Nope,” he denied, “Treasure first. Your words are empty until that’s in our hands.”

The man sighed heavily and shook his head. “Oh, forget this.” He reached for something on his hip— a remote control, and pressed a button. The group waiting behind them yelled as a blue force field rose up in a circle around them, well over their heads. Noir gasped and Mona growled as the man stood up, scowling.

“Seems you’re not complete idiots, but don’t take me for one. That assassin claim is an obvious ruse for you to try to scare me into giving up the Treasure.”

“What?! No!” Noir protested. “We’re trying to save you!”

“Do you take me for a fool?” he scoffed. “I know who runs the show— the mental shutdowns. Masayoshi Shido! Why would he eliminate a paying customer?!”

Noir gasped gently and looked back at Joker, who grimaced. She turned back to her father and shook her head, scowling. “Do you know how much that pains me to hear?! That you, the man who was once a loving father, warped into a murdering, greed-filled money-grubber?!” She sobbed. “I remember when you used to treat people like human beings and actually cared about me! And now that I’m trying to save you from your own— _idiocy_ , you have the nerve to act like you’re not a pawn, too?!”

Okumura scoffed. “Oh, don’t try crying, it’s not going to work. My old self was a loser who could barely support himself or you. Only the ruthless make it in this world, and you should be grateful tha—“

He yelped as the remote control was shot out of his hand by Mona’s slingshot. The strike hit the button on it, causing the force field to drop. The others quickly charged forward as Morgana smirked at the Shadow.

“We’re saving you whether you like it or not!” he cried. “That’ll be Noir’s revenge!”

Okumura grit his teeth and pulled back. A floating chair appeared with numerous colorful buttons on the arms of the chair as he sat down and glared at them.

“No matter! I have thirty minutes until the launch— plenty of time to wipe you out! Now, taste the power of Okumura Foods!”

* * *

The fight that followed was a bitch and a half. Waves upon waves of robots were summoned to attack, until finally they had to face four bulky, green Vice President bots all at once that fled after only a few minutes. Okumura just kept summoning them back until Joker managed to destroy all of them at once in a rage with an overpowered curse skill cast repeatedly. Oracle had made some side remark during it about ‘gamer rage from a shitty boss fight’ and he had used up practically all of his SP, but finally, the last of the robots were gone.

With three minutes left on the countdown, Joker shot at the chair. It malfunctioned and crashed unceremoniously, throwing Shadow Okumura to the floor as the treasure fell down from the ship. The group approached the Shadow while Mona snatched the treasure and tucked it away in a pouch.

The entire Palace began to shake violently. Noir could see her father’s Shadow’s tears falling against his helmet as she knelt down, tearing up herself. “Father, we need to go, now!”

“I’m sorry,” the Shadow sobbed, “I’m so sorry— oh my God, what have I done?!”

“Hey!” Skull yelled. “We don’t got much time, so cry later!”

But Shadow Okumura continued to kneel there, bawling his eyes out. The group yelped as a piece of rubble fell behind them, and Queen hissed.

“Okumura, _STAND UP._ We’ve wasted enough time; the assassin could be here any minute!”

Noir tugged at his arms and huffed. She glared at him. “Father, get up! _GET UP!_ **_NOW!”_**

The Shadow startled to attention and rose up with his daughter. His helmet was fogging a bit with tears as he nodded. “L— Lead the wa—“

“I’m getting something!” Oracle interrupted as she clutched the sides of her mask. “A really strong signal’s approach— _THERE!”_

She pointed behind Okumura, and all turned to see a man in a pitch black and blue striped outfit with a black mask. The nose of the mask pointed sharp as a blade, and devilish horns were upon the top of the mask, pointing back. They couldn’t see his face, save for a devious, open-mouthed grin. He already had an arm outstretched, a gun in hand. Joker quickly pulled his own gun out and pointed back. 

“Everyone, move. Now!” he barked. Okumura stared in hopeless shock as Noir tugged at his arm. 

“Father!” she pleaded. “We—“

In the blink of an eye, the assailant turned the gun just far enough to point at Noir. Joker shot off at him just as he took a shot back. The shot penetrated the assailant’s left shoulder just after his shot, and they could hear a very loud _FUCK!_ being shouted by the assassin as he clutched his shoulder. 

**_ “NO!”  _ **

Okumura’s cry came just as Noir braced herself for the shot that never came. She opened her eyes just in time to see her father’s shadow, having jumped in front of her, collapse to the ground on his side. The closest equivalent to blood from a Shadow began to spurt out of the wound in his chest.

For a moment, time stood still as Noir stared down at the prone figure of her father. He rolled over, onto her feet, and met her eyes.

A smile was on his face as blood pooled in his mouth and dripped down the side of his face. 

“... Love you... go.”

With that, the Shadow vanished into thick, black smoke. 

Noir couldn’t feel anything. Couldn’t hear anything as Joker pulled her arm and told her they had to go as the shaking grew more violent. She felt far away, out of her body as she stared off where the assassin had been, gone as the smoke vanished. 

It wasn’t until she was in the Monamobile, wedged between Skull and Fox to keep her from running, that she snapped back into the situation. 

An ear-splitting scream escaped her as they fled the rapidly collapsing Palace, and it was a scream the others could do nothing to stop. 


	30. Early Mourning

_ “We have breaking news. Following the Phantom Thieves’ latest calling card, their intended target, Kunikazu Okumura, has been hospitalized following cardiac arrest, which is suspected to be the result of a mental shutdown.” _

Sojiro glanced up at the TV. A picture of the calling card was shown beside an anchor’s head on the TV.

_ “This calling card was reported to be delivered to Okumura’s household today and publicly posted online; the calling card went viral within minutes of posting. However, for a first for a calling card, it came with a warning beyond stealing a heart.” _

The man raised an eyebrow.

_ “The Phantom Thieves publicly claimed that an assassin would target Okumura, and that they would do everything they can to stop the unnamed killer. However, it appears their efforts may have failed.” _

Sojiro’s eyes widened as he remembered Okumura’s visit to the cafe the other day. He was silent as he continued watching.

_ “... Okumura is reported to have lapsed into a coma and put on life support; he is not expected to survive.” _

His heart wrenched as he thought of Haru.

_ “The police have issued a statement that they are beginning an investigation.” _

The screen switched to a straight-laced, stern-looking officer at a podium.

_ “... Whatever the Phantom Thieves intended to do in the name of saving Okumura has failed. We are investigating their claims that this was a premeditated crime intended to frame them. The police are publicly requesting that the Phantom Thieves to come forward and cooperate in our investigation. Furthermore, anyone with information is encouraged to come forward.” _

The officer talked a bit more while Sojiro sighed and shook his head. Two elderly customers at a booth tsked.

“How terrible,” the elderly woman said, “I can’t imagine how awful this must be for the man’s family...”

“It seems the Phantom Thieves aren’t as powerful as everyone thought.” her husband bemoaned. “It’s a shame.”

_ “... The Phantom Thieves have not commented on how they obtained this information.” _

“It’s strange, isn’t it?” the elderly woman commented. “How the Phantom Thieves seems to know so much. Like with a Madarame and that terrible man who was extorting children in Shibuya.”

“Mhm,” her husband agreed, his arms crossed, “I remember hearing in a Madarame’s case that no one knew about his forgery crimes, either. Makes you wonder how they do it!”

Sojiro froze, stopping short as he wiped the inside of a cup in his hand. The elderly woman sighed. “It’s too bad that they couldn’t save that man this time... I wonder who’s trying to frame them, if it’s true.”

Her husband noticed Sojiro’s dumbfounded expression and laughed. “Oh, has something finally caught your interest, Sakura-san?”

The man snapped to attention and quickly shook his head. “Oh, don’t mind me.”

“Interested in the Phantom Thieves, hmm?” the woman teased. “Don’t be so shy! It’s natural to be curious. We’re used to hearing about it; our grandson is obsessed with the Phantom Thieves. Talks about them all the time.”

Her husband nodded. “This whole situation reminds me about how he was telling us recently about how some of their recent targets were corrupt officers. Those officers apparently were claiming to police that the only person who could have known what they were doing at the time is dead, making it impossible for the Phantom Thieves to have known what they did.”

The woman chuckled. “Unless they can talk to the dead. Wouldn’t that be something?”

“Hah!” Her husband laughed and shook his head. “Just like that _Wraith_ show you’re so fond of, hmm?”

“It’s my guilty pleasure. I don’t judge you for your choice in shows.” she retorted. She turned to Sojiro. “What’s your guilty pleas— are you alright, Sakura-san?”

Sojiro had gone completely white in the face. His eyes were wide and shaken as he blinked a few times as he tried to regain a sense of reality. He stammered and cleared his throat.

“Fine,” he said, sounding strained, “just... feel a migraine coming on.”

“Oh, dear! Do you need me to go get the neighborhood doctor?”

Sojiro shook his head. “N—No! No. Thank you, but... I think I’m just going to close up shop early today. Don’t worry about the bill.”

“Oh, psh,” the woman dismissed, “we’ll just leave payment on the table; you can have your apprentice clean up later. Sure I can’t get anything for you?”

“I’m really fine,” Sojiro croaked, “thanks for coming...”

The couple departed and flipped the sign to ‘closed’ at his polite request. Sojiro spent a long time staring down at the countertop. He wasn’t sure how long he had been doing so when he felt a cold wind pat his cheek a few times. The man clenched his fists against the counter and exhaled sharply.

“Wakaba,” he croaked, closing his eyes, “is this true? Is he— working with who I think he’s working with?” No response came, and he sighed. “Don’t go tell him I’m suspicious. I’m not gonna kick him out or anything, but we have to talk. Anyways... please. If my suspicions are right, pat my right hand. If I’m wrong, my left.”

There was a moment’s pause before he felt wind strike his right hand. The man shuddered and hung his head. “I knew it... I knew it all along, but didn’t want to admit it...” He fought back a sob. “God damn it... what are you doing, Ren?”

He startled as the bell above the door jingled. He turned to see Ren and Futaba coming in; Ren had an arm around Futaba’s shoulders as the girl clung to him and hung her head down. She was sniffling. Ren looked up to meet Sojiro’s gaze; a haunted, ashamed look was in his eyes as he frowned. Dark lines were under his eyes. Morgana was unusually quiet in the bag on his back.

“Hey, Boss, Isshiki-san.” he greeted quietly. “I saw the sign on the door had been flipped. Is everything okay?”

Neither of them responded immediately. Sojiro looked at Futaba as she peeled up at him, her eyes red and exhausted. 

“... I want curry.” she mumbled. Sojiro grimaced, as did Wakaba. The man hesitated, and the anger in him briefly subsided as he looked at her. She sniffled. “Sojiro...?”

“We need to talk.” he said quietly. “Ren. Go lock the door. Futaba, take a seat.”

“What’s wrong?” Ren pressed. Sojiro scowled.

“Just do as I say.” 

The words came out of his mouth harsher than he intended, but the two quickly obeyed. Futaba pushed herself into a booth while Ren locked the door. He followed after her and sat beside her while Sojiro took a seat opposite of them. Futaba leaned against Ren and put an arm around him. He took the hint and put an arm around her as she clung to him. Morgana settled himself at Ren’s other side, his ears twitching and tail swishing anxiously. Wakaba remained standing, looking uncomfortable and silent.

“I’ll get to the point.” Sojiro said, his voice strange— strong and emotional but stone cold all at once. “Ren. Futaba. Have you been helping the Phantom Thieves?”

Both teens’ eyes flew open as they stared at him in open shock. At their expressions, he exhaled sharply and narrowed his eyes. “I knew it...”

“How?” Ren croaked. Sojiro scoffed.

“I used to work for the government. Do you think I’m an idiot?” He held a hand up and began counting off on each finger. “The first target was a teacher at your school. The second was Yusuke’s teacher— and it’s strange how they found out about the forgery operation with no evidence. The third targeted a man that even the police couldn’t name or find.” 

He looked at his adoptive daughter and closed his hand, curling in his fingers as he sighed and set his hand down. “The fourth was Futaba, wasn’t it? She wouldn’t come out of her room for two years, and all of a sudden with you around, she was willing to come out and about, which is when I found out about your power. She was even willing to go to the beach, of all places.” Sojiro sighed and shook his head. “Wakaba asked you to help her, didn’t she? Then there was the whole debacle with your uncle... that got mysteriously resolved with a change of heart.”

“Sojiro...” Futaba murmured, shaken. Wakaba sighed and scowled.

“She asked more than I did... this was also your work, Futaba. Not just me...”

“... And finally, Okumura.” Sojiro said bluntly. “When the Phantom Thieves mysteriously found out that someone was trying to kill him. At the same time, you made friends with his daughter— you knew he was coming next.” 

“Sojiro—” Ren tried to speak, but Sojiro cut him off again.

“Then there’s the minor targets that said the only person who knew what they were doing is dead.” He scoffed. “How could the Thieves have known if they didn’t have someone like you on their side? All of these things together seem to always be connected to you; there’s too much to all be mere coincidence.” His eyes narrowed. “So what do you have to say for yourself?” The volume of his voice rose as Ren whitened. “Why would you introduce such dangerous people to Futaba?!”

Wakaba gasped, put a hand to her chest, and scowled. “You—!” She reached out to slap him. Sojiro winced as a sharp wind strike his face, but he didn’t budge otherwise.

“Don’t get mad at him!” Futaba protested. “I asked him! He saved me! He stole my hea...” 

She stopped talking, but the damage was done. Sojiro’s eyes widened. “... Asked?” He shook his head. “Stole?!”

Futaba squeaked in fear and tucked her face against Ren’s shoulder as the boy shrank in his seat. Sojiro gaped at him as the gears in his head turned. Finally, he sputtered and gasped. 

“... You’re— you’re not just helping them, are you?” he whispered. “You actually are one?”

Ren gulped. He looked at Wakaba, who stared at him before she sighed and nodded. He turned back to Sojiro, almost in tears himself. “I—I— yes.” he admitted. “I’m... I’m a Phantom Thief.”

“... And me, too.” Futaba whispered, pulling her head up just enough to peek at Sojiro. Her face was soaked with tears and snot. 

A profound silence filled the cafe as Sojiro stared, hard, at them. Ren was the first to break the silence after taking a deep breath. He sat up straight and steeled his expression.

“We are the Phantom Thieves.” he admitted, calm with great effort, though he sounded strained. “I have been using my power to obtain targets. I am also the leader, as well as a founding member. If you’re going to punish anyone, let it be me.”

Sojiro moaned and put a hand to his forehead. “Jesus Christ... God. I can’t believe this... what sort of kid did I take in...?”

“Sojiro, he saved me. Saved my _life.”_ Futaba said firmly, sniffling and shaking. “I was t—trapped in a labyrinth of my own heart and couldn’t escape on my own. He... they changed my cog—cognition!”

“I know you’re not the bad guys!” Sojiro snapped, putting his hand down and scowling. “I’m worried because of the danger you’re all putting yourselves in! You’re hunting the guy behind the mental shutdowns, aren’t you?”

Both went silent. Sojiro scowled. “You have to stop! Just stop and give this up!”

“It’s Masoyoshi Shido, isn’t it?” Ren demanded. At Sojiro’s gape, he huffed. “Kobayakawa spies for us now. He told us recently who it was.”

Futaba nodded and growled. “We have to stop—“

“He’ll kill you!” Sojiro protested, shaking his head. “Shido is a ruthless, heartless bastard who’ll just— kill you, no hesitation! You probably saw his killer today, didn’t you? They know you somehow knew about their plot! You just painted an even bigger target on your backs, and you’ll die if you keep this up!”

Futaba broke into another sob and buried her head against Ren’s chest. Sojiro silenced and felt a pang of guilt in his heart as Ren stroked her back and closed his eyes. Tears clung to his eyes.

“Do you have to rub it in?” Ren whispered. “We saw Okumura’s other self die today. Haru said his other self die at her feet. We couldn’t stop the assassin; we were too late.”

“‘Other self’...?”

Ren nodded. “It’s related to Isshiki-san’s research. Everyone has a part of themselves they don’t want to face— called a Shadow. If that Shadow is killed... the real person suffers mental shutdown and dies.” He looked up at a shell-shocked Sojiro. “We managed to take the source of his desires. We almost had him escape with us, but his Shadow wouldn’t get up in time. Wouldn’t stop crying. Then the assassin came and aimed at Haru. He jumped in the way of the shot.” He closed his eyes and bit back a sob. “He died at her feet. We know we failed, Boss. I know I failed as the leader. Now everyone— everyone’s in danger because of me, and I have to—”

“Ren!” Futaba protested. “This isn’t your fault! We chose this as much as you did, and we did everything we could!”

“She’s right.” Wakaba agreed grimly. “I know you’re all hurting, but don’t point blame at any of yourselves.”

Sojiro’s mouth opened and closed a few times. 

“Oh.” he finally whispered. He hesitated before taking a deep, long breath. “God. I never would have imagined that... all of Wakaba’s research...” He shook his head. “We’ll talk more about that later.” He exhaled sharply. “Don’t you all get it, though? What if the killer tries to get you next?”

“We can’t suffer mental shutdown.” Ren replied. At Sojiro’s confused stare, he shrugged. “We... we have these things called Personas. They’re our own Shadows, fused with us. We can summon them at will in the other world, and since they’re always within us...”

“They can’t be killed.” Sojiro murmured. He groaned and leaned back, putting a hand on his head. “Good God. What the hell...”

“This is why we have to do this, Sojiro!” Futaba cried, picking her head back up and wiping her eyes. “The killer can’t take us out like that! We’re the only ones immune, and the only ones who can put to this!”

Sojiro scowled. “Don’t you get it? If you pissed off the same people that killed Wakaba... then they’re not someone like you kids can handle.” He closed his eyes and shook his head before looking at both of his kids. They stared at him with bewildered, exhausted eyes, and he felt his anger bank into a hard lump in his throat. Exhaustion and concern took its place as he scratched his head. 

“You know what... we’ll... we’ll talk more about this tomorrow. Ren, you’re staying home to deal with that... and Haru’s father. He’ll be making an appearance soon, won’t he?”

Ren nodded. “Makoto and her father went with Haru to the hospital. Her father will give him the news and then after he signals to the girls that he’s got him, he’ll bring him to me. We’ve got a long, tiring night ahead of us.”

“Well, then...” Sojiro stood up. “Let’s eat. I’m pooped, and I expect you both are, too. We’ll talk more about this Phantom Thief stuff later.” He paused and turned back to Ren with a quirked brow. “You’re not hiding else major from me, right? No more supernatural bullshit I’m missing or whatever?”

“Not unless you count the intricacies of what we do that we’ll discuss tomorrow, but I suppose that falls in the ‘supernatural bullshit’ category.” Ren said with a wry smile. Futaba raised a hand.

“Hold up! We didn’t tell him that Morgana can talk! That’s a major thing, right?”

Sojiro scoffed. “Very funny.” At their awkward silence (and giggling from Wakaba he couldn’t hear), he paled. “Oh, you’ve gotta be kiddin’ me.”

“Surprise?” Morgana said as he sat up, putting his front paws on the table. Futaba giggled and smiled.

“You can’t understand him ‘cuz you haven’t been to the cognitive world. He talks like a normal person there. When you hear that and your brain realizes he can actually talk, you understand him here, too.” She paused. “Also, Ren says Mom and other ghosts can understand him.”

Sojiro stared blankly at the cat as he smirked as much as a cat could and laughed. The man closed his eyes and shook his head as he turned away toward the kitchen. “You know what? I don’t even want to think about this right now. Let’s eat and save this for tomorrow.”

“Thank God.” Futaba griped as she threw her upper half against the table with a groan. “I’m tired...”

Morgana’s smugness faded, and the cat sat back down with a weary sigh. “We should tell the others... but for now, let’s wait. I can’t imagine how Haru... or her father... are feeling right now.”

* * *

Kunikazu felt an intense pain in his chest and head before blacking out in the span of less than a minute. 

It came on suddenly, just moments after he realized with great, overwhelming horror exactly how terrible he had been, to his daughter, to his employees, to—

To all the people he paid to have killed. The new Okumura was dead and gone in an instant, replaced with the stern but caring man he used to be. The old him was suddenly back and left to gape at all his new self had wrought in his absence.

The revelation made him keel over and almost vomit with shame and dismay. The guilt overwhelmed him to the point he could hardly breathe.

Then just as fast as the shame and remorse struck him came intense pain striking him like a flash of lightning, and everything went dark. When he came to in what felt like just a moment later, all the pain was gone. Nothing hurt physically, but the emotional pain and guilt was raw as ever. 

“... Ah.” 

There was an unfamiliar man’s voice. Okumura cracked his eyes open slowly to find himself in a hospital room, somehow standing upright. Before him was a stern-looking police officer with sharp red eyes and a Buchimaru-kun pin on his sleeve. Around them was an annoying, mechanical sound that sounded like a flatline, and the murmurs of doctors and nurses. 

He blinked a few times. “Where— where am I? Am I under arrest? And where’s Haru?

“Not by me, and Haru is fine.” the officer said coolly. He looked at him with disgust and disdain. Kunikazu couldn’t blame him; he felt the same way toward himself right now. The other man sighed. “Let’s get right to it. My name is Genkei Niijima, formerly an officer of the Tokyo police department. Welcome to the afterlife.” he said dryly. “Let me be blunt with you: you’re dead. You suffered a mental shutdown. You’re now a ghost, same as me.” 

Okumura blinked at him. “W—What? That’s— I’m not—”

Genkei pointed behind him. Okumura turned to see his body, pale and open-eyed but still warm and bearing the superficial appearance of life at first glance. The body lied motionlessly on a hospital bed as the heart rate monitor beside it flatlined. A doctor nodded at a nurse that pulled a white sheet over the corpse’s face while the doctor walked off, right through Okumura, who gasped sharply as she walked right through him.

“Wh...” Okumura fought back a broken sob as he turned to Genkei. “Oh, God... so the Phantom Thieves were serious...”

Genkei snorted. “They tried to warn you, but it was too late. This is really your own fault; play stupid games, win stupid prizes.” 

Okumura covered his face and sobbed. “... You’re right. You’re absolutely right... this is no less than I deserve. What have I done?”

“Pull yourself together.” Genkei barked. Okumura snapped to attention as the former officer glared at him briefly. Finally, the man closed his eyes and took a deep breath before looking back at the newly-deceased. “Damn it. Okay, listen—”

“Can no one see us or hear us?” Okumura asked, dismayed. Genkei shook his head.

“No. Well... almost no one. This is where you’re in luck.” He nodded along and turned toward the door. “Follow me. Don’t bother with the door; we don’t need that.”

Okumura watched as the man nonchalantly walked through a wall. After a wide-eyed moment, he followed and walked right through the wall. The other man kept leading him until they reached where Haru and Makoto were sitting. A doctor was walking away as Haru sobbed into her hands and let Makoto hug her. Okumura gasped.

“Haru...”

He reached out to her, but Genkei shook his head. “Don’t bother. She can’t hear you. However...” He pointed at Makoto. “See her? That’s my daughter, Makoto. Girlfriend of that poor boy that you were harassing in Leblanc. His name is Ren Amamiya.”

Okumura blinked. “Really? I thought that was just a lie to cover up an illicit relationship. Huh.” He sighed and scratched the back of his neck (or tried, anyways, before shuddering and pulling his hand back). “Not that I would have blamed her. That Sugimura boy is a creep and she would have had every right to elope with someone else, but I also should have trusted her more.”

“You think?” Genkei sneered. “Anyways, this is where you’re in luck. Watch this.” 

The ghost approached Makoto and tapped her wrist, then her cheek. Makoto stiffened and patted Haru’s back.

“I felt my father’s signal,” she whispered, much to Kunikazu’s open shock, “that means your father is here with us... but we can’t see him.”

Haru sniffled and pulled away from the other girl. She looked up into the open air as her father broke into tears (as much as a ghost could) and gasped. “Haru...!”

“Father, if you’re here... tap my left wrist.” she ordered. Kunikazu hesitated for a moment before stepping forward and doing as he was told. His hand went right through her, but the girl shivered and pulled her wrist back. A small, teary smile appeared on her face. “Oh, thank goodness... you’re really here.”

Kunikazu nodded and beamed, even with the motion of sobbing that couldn’t bring up real, physical tears he wanted to spill. “Yes! Yes, I’m still here, Haru!”

“I can’t hear you or see you.” she whispered. “Go to Ren, to Leblanc in Yongen. Tell him I sent you.”

Kunikazu blinked. “But... if the living can’t see us—“

“I said you’re in luck.” Genkei huffed. “Now, come with me. Focus. Picture where you want to go, who you want to see.”

Though he was unsure of himself, Kunikazu obeyed, and startled as he abruptly found himself in the attic of Leblanc. He barely had time to take in the surroundings of the boy’s room as his eyes flew to Ren, the boy he had confronted days prior.

He was sitting up on the bed in the corner, the cat at his side, and was staring directly at Okumura. He nodded stiffly.

“Welcome back, Okumura-san. I’m sorry we couldn’t save you.”

Kunikazu gasped and stepped to the side, marveling as Ren’s gaze followed him effortlessly. “You can see me!” he breathed. Ren smiled weakly.

“Yes, and hear you, too.” He turned to Genkei. “Thanks for bringing him here and bringing him up to speed.”

“Eh.” Genkei shrugged. “I hate him, but someone has to show the hapless bastard the ropes. I did it for Haru, not him.” He turned to Okumura. “You have no idea how lucky you are that your daughter is friends with Ren. He’s special; he can see and speak with the dead.”

Kunikazu gaped before a giddy smile broke out on his face. “You mean... I can talk to Haru through him?!” 

“You sure can.” Ren said with a nod. “Haru’s fully aware of the situation. She’s ready to work with us.”

“Oh my God.” Kunikazu laughed and threw his head back, a hand in his hair (best he could manage, anyways). “Oh my God, either I’ve gone insane or—”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, just tell him what your daughter told you.” Genkei huffed. Kunikazu nodded and smiled sheepishly at Ren.

“Yes! Yes, sorry, thank you. Er— my daughter, she— she told me to tell you that she sent me.”

Ren pulled his phone out of his pocket and held it to his ear. Okumura could faintly hear his daughter’s voice on the other end as Ren cleared his throat. “Hey. Your dad is here. He says you sent him to me.” He heard a sob on the other end followed by muttering. Ren yawned and nodded. “Mhm. Yes, you can come— no, don’t worry about me. I can stay up. Boss is letting me stay home tomorrow and your father just died; he said you’re welcome to stay overnight again. I can make the time. Mhm. I’m sure. I’ll see you soon; get here safe. Bye.” He hung up and looked up at Kunikazu, who was shaking with emotion. “She’s leaving the hospital now with Makoto and is on her way. She wants to talk to you.”

“Thank you.” Kunikazu whispered. “Thank you! I’m sorry for how rude I was to you and your father, so sorry for everything, and I need to tell her—”

“Save it for when she gets here.” Ren interrupted. Morgana nodded.

“Yeah, and don’t be too disappointed if your conversation doesn’t last very long.” he warned as Okumura took a startled step back. Genkei just snickered at him as the cat spoke. “Everyone, including her and Ren, are exhausted. We probably won’t get anywhere past acknowledgement; that’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”

“Did that cat— is that the one Haru saved? Did he just talk?!” Okumura cried in disbelief. Morgana hissed.

“I’m not a cat!” He huffed and looked up at a bemused Ren. “I might not be able to see or hear him, but I know what he called me! He did, didn’t he?! He called me a cat!”

“Yup.” Ren said bluntly. Morgana hissed again, louder, and Okumura took a step back, holding his hands up in bewilderment. 

“I’m NOT a cat, got it?! I am a human who just lost his true form!”

“I’m going insane.” Kunikazu gasped. The man let out a broken, humorless laugh and shook his head, lifting a hand to his forehead. “I’m losing my goddamn mind. I’m in Hell for all my sins and I’ve lost my damn mind.”

“Oh, for—” Genkei shook his and and scoffed. “No, you’re not, you big crybaby. Shut up and listen to them!”

Kunikazu silenced. He stared at Ren with wide, bewildered yet curious eyes.

“Who... who exactly are you all?” 

Ren smiled, tired but somewhat amused.

“We’re the Phantom Thieves.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I referenced Sojiro’s confidant. I definitely wanna write that but it’ll be done later in a separate side-bit fic for confidants so I don’t bog down the story here.


	31. Settling Affairs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUESS WHO HAD ALMOST NOTHING TO DO YESTERDAY AT WORK AND WROTE A LOT

Ren’s proclamation was met with a blank stare and silence. Okumura went blank-faced as Genkei and Ren stared at him, waiting for him to say something.

“Did my daughter ask you to change my heart?”

That was the first words out of his mouth. Ren nodded.

“Yes. We actually weren’t going to go for you, but after she learned who we are, she begged for help. Explained her situation over being married against her will.” Ren shook his head as Okumura gaped. “She was so scared and upset. We also owed her one for saving Morgana here.”

“How did this happen?” Okumura croaked. Ren told Morgana, scratched behind an ear with his back leg and spoke up.

“She saw me walking by myself and followed. Unintentionally, she got too close to me when I was entering the cognitive world to case your Palace. She rescued me after I got attacked.”

“Cognitive world...? Palace?”

“We’ll get into the fine details tomorrow.” Ren said with a yawn. “My guardian just found out we’re the Phantom Thieves, too, and we wants an explanation, so...”

Okumura grimaced. “I suppose it doesn’t matter... the point is, I put all of you, but especially Haru, in terrible danger because she saw what a monster I had become.” He sniffled and hung his head. “To think about how desperate she must have been... God. What have I done?”

“Save it for your daughter.” Genkei huffed. “She’ll be here soon enough...”

* * *

True to Morgana’s expectations, while Haru was excited to greet her father, fatigue quickly overwhelmed her. Makoto had joined her on the way home and agreed that she was tired, too, and messaged to let her sister know. Everyone went to sleep for the night, but come morning, Haru asked to speak with Ren and her father privately. The others let them be upstairs in Ren’s attic. 

Even with a full night’s sleep, Haru looked exhausted. Her hair was frizzy and knotted, and her eyes were dark and tired, her skin pale. Her father fussed a bit, but was encouraged to settle down so they could talk. Ren and Haru took their seats on the couch in his room while Okumura awkwardly floated in place where he was. 

Both father and daughter were silent until Ren cleared his throat and got their attention. He held his hands together. “Okay,” he started, “so, um... who wants to go first?”

“Please let me.” Okumura pleaded. Ren told Haru, who just nodded.

“Go ahead, father.”

“Thank you.” Her father knelt down in front of her. His voice cracked as he spoke. “I... am so sorry. There is nothing I can say that can encapsulate how horrible I feel about everything I did to you. As a father, I failed you. I was willing to sell you off to an abusive, horrible man against your will for my own selfish gain.” He hung his head. “You have no reason to forgive me, and you shouldn’t forgive me. If you never wanted to speak to me again, I’d understand. I was horrible to you and didn’t consider what you wanted, only what I wanted.” He took a shuddering breath, picked his head up, and nodded. “Thank you for stealing my heart. Ren, you go ahead and tell her what I said.”

Ren shared what he said. Haru was silent for a moment and looked down quietly. She took a breath and picked her head back up. “You’re right,” she said coolly, “I don’t forgive you. I’ll never forgive you. What you did to everyone, not just to me, was abominable and shameful. There is nothing you can say or do to make up for any of that.”

There was a pause. Okumura sighed. “I understand...”

“But... even so, I still love you.”

Okumura’s head shot up wide eyes and tears in the corners of his eyes. “Haru...!”

Haru smiled tearfully. “I remember the man you used to be. You were such a good father back then; I remember how you took me to see grandfather, and how you laughed when I tasted coffee and complained it was bitter. I remember when you would take me to the park and call me your little heroine, like those shows I was obsessed with.” She sniffled and sobbed and closed her eyes. “I remember how you read to me at night, and how you made me bento boxes for school.” She sighed forlornly. “... I remember how you promised me you would always love me and do whatever it took to protect me... and then you changed.”

Okumura made a face as though she had plunged a knife into his heart, but he didn’t say anything. Haru smiled tiredly. “So... while I’ll never forgive you for your sins, and while I’m still angry with you for what you did... because you’re willing to atone... I still love you, Father.”

Kunikazu beamed through the tears. “I love you, too, Haru. This is more than I deserve.” He tried to wipe at his eyes. “You’re a good daughter. So kind and brave. You’re a fine young woman who I know can succeed in whatever you choose to do. You have your freedom; never let go of it again.”

Ren told her how he felt. Haru sniffled and surprised Ren by throwing her arms around him and squeezing tightly. 

“Thank you, Ren.” she said warmly. “Thanks to you, my father and I can reconcile. It means the world to us.”

“That it does.” her father agreed. “You’re a special young man. I’m glad my daughter befriended you.”

“Heh.” Ren hugged her back briefly and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. “Thanks. That means a lot. I’m just...” He sighed and frowned guiltily. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you, Okumura-san.”

“Don’t be sorry.” Haru quickly scolded with a shake of the head. She scowled. “This was no one’s fault but the killer’s. I appreciate you at least getting a shot in at him.” She sighed. “Father, your... other self jumped in front of me when the assassin tried to shoot me. That led to your mental shutdown.”

“So I died for you.” he summarized. He smiled proudly. “Good, and I’d do it again. My life is over, but you still have a future.”

After Ren shared what he said, Haru smiled tiredly. “Still... thank you.” She turned to Ren. “Now, why don’t we head downstairs? We have a lot more to discuss.”

* * *

Sojiro, Wakaba, Genkei, Makoto, Futaba, and Morgana were all waiting for them as they came downstairs. Futaba was perched on a stool by Morgana, who was in an adjacent stool and was looking at Ren and Haru quietly. Sojiro was standing in his usual spot by the bar, fingers twitching with anxiety, his face riddled with concern and discomfort. Wakaba stood by her daughter, and Genkei by his daughter. 

“How did it go?” Morgana asked anxiously. “Haru, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Mona-chan.” she reassured. “We’re emotional, but all went well. I can start reconciling with my father thanks to Ren’s gift.”

Wakaba looked Kunikazu up and down curiously. “So you’re him. I’m Wakaba Isshiki, Futaba’s mother— the girl sitting there on the stool. I’m also dead. Welcome to being dead, enjoy your stay.” She looked toward Sojiro, who was scratching the back of his neck. “You met him before, but that’s Sojiro Sakura, Ren’s guardian and Futaba’s adoptive father.”

Okumura bowed stiffly. “It’s a pleasure. Ren, would you do me a favor and apologize to your guardian on my behalf? I want to apologize for being so rude earlier.”

Ren did as he requested. Sojiro shrugged. “I’ll forgive you for that, but not the other stuff you did to your daughter and workers.”

“That’s fair.” Okumura sighed.

Ren approached Makoto, who smiled at him tiredly. “Good morning.” 

“Good morning.” He sighed in relief. “It’s good to see your face. Thanks for being here; I’m honestly surprised your sister allowed you to skip school today.”

Makoto shrugged. “She’s too busy with investigating Okumura’s death to argue, but she didn’t approve; she begrudgingly allowed it and said not to make a habit of it.” She patted the seat next to her. “Why don’t you take a seat? We have a lot to discuss.”

* * *

They explained everything to them. The Metaverse, Palaces, Personas, the app, and the story up until then. From Ren and Ryuji unwittingly being pulled into the Metaverse on his first day of school to the present, everything was told.

Sojiro looked uncomfortable the whole time. He cringed upon description of how Awakenings went, recoiled back from the app as they displayed it and told them not to touch it while he was there, and seemed dazed as they tried to explain the intricacies. He crossed his arms, his eyes wide and lip twitching as he scratched one of his arms anxiously. 

Okumura was less visibly shocked, but he shifted with discomfort several times during the story, particularly when they touched upon his daughter’s Awakening. Per his request, they spared no details of the cruelties of his Palace and what his Shadow self had said to his daughter. The man felt sick about it and hung his head in utter remorse and shame.

“... And that’s the whole story.” Ren finished. “Does that make sense?”

Sojiro barked out a laugh. “Kid, none of this makes sense.” He shook his head and grimaced. He covered his face with a hand. “What have you kids gotten yourselves into...?”

“We got ourselves into the mess, and we’ll get ourselves out of it.” Ren said confidently. “Have some faith in us.”

“We’ll fix this.” Morgana agreed, a serious look in his eyes. “Okumura’s death was horrible, but it just means we have another reason to stop Shido!”

The man stared at Morgana for a moment. Finally, he groaned and pulled his hand away to give Ren an exhausted look. “Weren’t our lives weird enough as it was?”

Futaba laughed nervously. “Well, that’s just because he’s an anime protagonist is all! Transfer student with magical stuff going on. It’s in his nature, he can’t help it.”

Sojiro scoffed and gave Ren an exhausted look. “You’re all kinds of weird, kid, you know that, right?”

Ren sighed heavily and leaned back. “Don’t I know it...” He laughed weakly and closed his eyes. “Sends me back. I remember thinking during Kamoshida’s Palace that... my life apparently wasn’t weird enough with seeing ghosts as it was. So the universe decided to fix that.” He groaned and leaned forward, arms crossed on the table. The boy kept his eyes down. “I’m sorry, Sakura-san. You don’t deserve any of this; I know I’ve only brought you trouble.”

“That’s not true.” Wakaba said firmly. Ren looked up at her, exhausted as she shook her head. “Everything aside, you freed my daughter and saved both of us. Sojiro knows that.”

“Ren...” Ren looked tiredly at an equally exhausted Sojiro. In spite of everything, he didn’t look angry. “I’m just... I’m just worried. We won’t ever forget all you did for us.” He scratched the side of his head. “I can’t say I know exactly what to do or what to say, but... this is still your home. We’re still your family, if you’ll have us, and we’ll get through this together.”

“I agree with what they said.” Okumura spoke up. He still looked horribly ashamed, but he was serious. “I know this can never make up for all the horrible things I said and did, but... I’ll help, too. We’re all Phantom Thieves now. You already have a spy, but you can use another one that’s smarter than that idiot Kobayakawa.”

“Whoa, hang on.” Genkei objected; he crossed his arms and scowled at him. “Who said you can join the Dead Parent Support Club?”

Wakaba rolled her eyes. “I didn’t know it was a club...”

“Can it.” He glared at Kunikazu, who glared right back. “You can’t sit with us!”

Kunikazu scowled. “You have every reason to hate me, but don’t disregard what I can offer! I can help; I have to after all I did!”

“He’s right.” Ren spoke up, drawing the men’s attention. He steepled his fingers and huffed. “I know you don’t like him, Niijima-san, but we need the help. He knows a lot about what Shido’s been up to, and we could use another spy.”

“What were they saying?” Futaba asked impatiently. Ren quickly translated, and Makoto scowled with that intense Niijima stare. 

“He’s right, Father. Hate him all you want, but he’s had a change of heart and he’s dead. He has nothing left to lose.”

Niijima grumbled bitterly and quieted. Okumura cleared his throat and turned back to Ren. “Thank both of you. I will be useful for you.” He turned to Haru, and his expression softened. “Haru, I am so sorry you had to do what you did. You joined the Phantom Thieves and put yourself in danger because I had lost my way.” He smiled softly. “... Thank you for changing my heart. You saved me.”

As Ren told her, Haru frowned, befuddled. “But... we failed to stop the assassin. You died; we didn’t save you.”

“Yes, you did.” Okumura insisted. He sighed. “They were going to kill me even if you didn’t give me a change of heart. I shudder to think what I would be like right now if you had declined to do that and I was killed anyways. If I was fated to die, then so be it. I’m just lucky you were able to set me straight in my final minutes.” He smiled weakly. “Life is a fickle thing that can be lost in the blink of an eye, but I’m still here. I’ll never be able to completely atone for what was done, but the morals that were returned to me... that’s what really saved me.” He wiped an eye. “I... I’m so proud of you, Haru. If you have decided you want to walk to path of the Phantom Thieves, I will support you however I can.”

Ren smiled tiredly and shared what he said with Haru. The girl beamed tearfully. “Oh, Father... you don’t know how happy that makes me to hear.” Her eyes hardened, and she scowled. “Mark my words: we WILL avenge you, and Isshiki-san, and everyone else who was killed by that horrible monster Shido!”

“Are you going after his... Palace... next?” Sojiro asked anxiously. “I don’t like that...”

Ren hesitated and looked at Makoto, then back to Sojiro. “We promised Makoto that we’d change Sae-san’s heart next... maybe we should do that while we gather intel on everyone who needs a change of heart alongside Shido. Plus, we need to figure out Shido’s keywords.”

“Sis’s Palace can wait.” Makoto huffed. “This is a more pressing issue.”

“We can make the time.” Morgana reassured. He looked up at her while her father hummed and lifted a hand to his chin in thought. 

“Actually... perhaps this is just me being selfish, but it might be worth making the time. If you can change Sae’s heart, we could bring her to our side. It’d be a tremendous help to have someone inside the prosecutor’s office helping us... we’ll need all the help we can get.”

“We need as much information as possible.” Okumura agreed. “True to Niijima-san’s suspicions, Shido’s operation is large and complicated; going after him alone is a mistake. You’ll need to orchestrate a plan to take out most of his accomplices at once if you want this to succeed. I have some names for you, but a prosecutor on our side would help.”

Ren nodded. “I agree.” He turned to Makoto and told her. She hummed anxiously and tapped her fingers against the tabletop. 

“I— if you’re sure, but we’ll have to discuss this with the rest of the team first.” He turned to Haru. “For now, we’ll need to help you first and foremost deal with the immediate issue of your father’s death. Funeral arrangements and estate settlement along with other affairs need to be dealt with.”

“Are you sure?” Haru asked, eyes widening. “I don’t want to impose...”

“It’s not an imposition if we offer. We Phantom Thieves support each other.” Futaba reassured. Makoto nodded and brushed back a lock of hair. 

“Plus, Ren can speak to your father for you. You’ll have an easier time settling affairs if your father can have direct input.”

“Mhm.” Okumura agreed. “I don’t want to put this all on you, Haru.”

The girl smiled softly, tearfully. “... Then I would appreciate that. Thank you.”

“Let me know if I can do anything to help, too.” Sojiro piped up. He scratched the back of his neck. “I hardly understand any of this supernatural stuff, but I’m on your side. You can stay as long as you want.”

Haru shook her head. “That’s kind of you, Sakura-san, but it’s time I go home.” She smiled warmly at Ren and Makoto. “I’ll be okay with their help.”

“I’ll have Ren-kun compile a list of people associated with Shido while we’re at it.” Kunikazu added. Ren shared the information and with that, he, Makoto, Haru, and Kunikazu took off. Futaba returned to her room, and Sojiro opened up shop. The man whistled and shook his head as he began to fetch curry ingredients from the fridge. 

“Man... it’s still morning, and I’m already exhausted.”

* * *

Upon arrival, the group found Haru’s home swarmed with investigators and police. The sight made Ren want to run on instinct, but for Haru and her father, he took a deep breath and continued on his way. His heart was beating hard and his breath was short as they went in, though he did his best to hide it. Makoto eventually reached for his hand and squeezed reassuringly. He gave her a silent, grateful smile that she matched with a nod.

He noted how big the residence was, especially given the fact they were in Tokyo. Opulence was the word of the day; her house was decked with art that would make Yusuke drool and furniture that Ren was afraid to touch for fear of damaging something that expensive. He did his best to make mental notes in spite of his fear as he trailed after Haru.

“Makoto? _Who is this?”_

Ren nearly jumped out of his skin as he saw Sae approaching the group and eying Ren suspiciously. Makoto yelped and pulled her hand away from Ren as if it had been burned. “S—Sis!” she gasped. “You’re here...?”

“Yes; I’m in charge of the investigation.” She narrowed her eyes at Ren. “I’ve seen you at Leblanc before, haven’t I? What’s—”

“He’s gay!” Makoto said a little louder than necessary. Ren winced as he heard Genkei begin to laugh hysterically and Okumura try and fail to muffle his laughter while Sae blinked in mild surprise. From the bag, he could hear Morgana choking on his laughter, and he swore he heard Haru snort audibly while Makoto smiled sheepishly. “I understand how it looks, but he’s terrified of police. It’s a phobia. We’re just good friends, so I was just trying to help him.”

“Oh.” Sae said dumbly. She cleared her throat. “Well, then. My apologies.”

“I get it.” Ren said, sounding strained. “I understanding seeing your sister with a boy would seem suspicious, but I am... _very_ gay and not at all into women that way.”

“I see.” She scratched the side of her head. “Sorry. This is off-topic anyways.” She turned to Haru, who nodded.

“These are my friends; they came to be moral support. Ren-kun is sticking it out for me. I’m also friends with his boyfriend Sakamoto-kun, but he couldn’t make it.” She smiled, oblivious to the howling laughter of Makoto’s father. “You must be Sae-san, right? Mako-chan’s sister?”

“... Yes.” Sae gave Ren one last appraising look before bowing to the girl. “My apologies for intruding. I understand that you must be dealing with a lot, but if I could ask you some questions, it’d help our investigation.”

“Of course. Can I just have them with me, please?”

After some back and forth, they were sitting on a plush white couch. Ren distracted himself by texting Ryuji while he tried to ignore Genkei and Kunikazu’s continued snickering.

_**Ren:** so uh I may need you to do me the biggest favor in the event Makoto’s sister decides to interrogate you _

_**Ryuji:** of course man what’s up? _

_**Ren:** We went to Haru’s place. Cops are all over the place and Makoto’s sister is here. She saw Makoto and I holding hands. _

_**Ryuji:** oh shit _

_**Ren:** Considering she is almost certainly going to look into me just to make sure a Nasty Crimeboy isn’t dating her sister Makoto quickly said I’m gay and Haru followed up by saying you’re my boyfriend. _

_**Ren:** So uh _

_**Ren:** If she comes to talk to you pretend like we’re in a relationship please? _

_**Ryuji:** For real?! Why me?! _

_**Ren:** IDK, ask Haru. _

_**Ren:** Please man you’re my only hope of not having my balls ripped off _

_**Ryuji:** smh _

_**Ryuji:** Fine. But you owe me ramen for this. _

_**Ren:** It’s a date! _

_**Ryuji:** NO _

“... Do you know anything about the calling card sent to Shujin’s principal?”

That got Ren’s attention. Both he and Makoto sat upright, as did Haru. The girl looked at them and saw their equally surprised looks. She shook her head as she turned to Sae. “No! This is the first I’ve heard of it...”

“Principal Kobayakawa got a calling card...?” Makoto whispered, stunned. Sae nodded.

“Don’t go announcing it, but yes. We’re looking into it right now.”

Ren felt his gut lurch. Someone really WAS trying to set them up... his heart began to race with fear for the safety of his team. Could anything make this worse? He wondered...

* * *

When Sojiro saw Ren’s father was calling, he assumed it was part of the usual monthly check-in. The cafe was empty after the morning rush, and he was still ruminating on the events of the morning when he answered the phone.

_“Good afternoon, Sakura-san,”_ Ren’s father greeted cheerfully, _“how have you been?”_

“Fine. And yourself?” Sojiro leaned against the edge of the counter as he held the phone to his ear. 

_ “I’m fine, thank you. Is Ren alright?” _

“He’s fine. Nothing new to report.”

_“Good, good.”_ There was a pause, then a sigh. _“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Sakura-san, but we’re reconsidering letting Ren stay in Tokyo.”_

Sojiro felt cold as he steeled himself. “He’ll be crushed. Do you mind if I ask what’s making you reconsider? His behavior is excellent, and he remains at the top of his class.”

_ “It has nothing to do with his conduct. We’re concerned by all the strange things happening in Tokyo right now, what with the Phantom Thieves. His school has been in the news several times. We’re not sure that it’s safe for him there.” _

Sojiro scowled. “Listen, I know there’s a lot going on, but Tokyo is a city of near 40 million people. He keeps to himself; he’s not likely to be in danger.”

There was a pause on the other end.

_“There’s one other thing we wanted to tell you, Sakura-san,”_ the man said in a strangely calm voice, _“about our son. If you want him to stay long term, you should know something about him.”_

“And that is?”

There was a heavy sigh on the other end. _“He thinks he can see ghosts. No, I’m not joking. He hasn’t had any incidents where he’s claimed he’s seen any since he got arrested, but you deserve to know just in case he starts this up again. If this is too much for you, you can send him back to us.”_

Sojiro was silent a minute. 

“Okay.” he finally said neutrally. He had to speak that way, or he would hear the anger in his voice. There was a pause on the other end.

_ “... You’re awfully calm about this.” _ Ren’s father said. His voice dripped with suspicion. Sojiro hesitated before continuing with the calmest voice he could manage.

“Well, not a lot fazes me.”

Another pause. When Ren’s father spoke again, his tone was even heavier with suspicion. _“He didn’t tell you about this, did he?”_

“No.” 

The lie came too fast, and Sojiro knew it. The other man gasped.

_ “He didn’t... he  _ did, _ didn’t he?!” _

“Hey,” Sojiro objected, clenching a fist, “there’s nothing wrong with him! He’s—”

The other line hung up, leaving him on dial tone. Sojiro pulled his phone away from his ear and grimaced.

“Oh, shit.”


	32. Vindication

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had most of this done in advance when I started writing the fic. Finally I get to post.

Haru was emotionally exhausted as they left her apartment for Leblanc, having mentioned she was craving the curry. Ren felt tired but still carried a sense of pride over being able to help Haru with settling affairs and setting up funeral arrangements with his power. Her father had been extremely helpful and recommended what should be done, and soon, at least for the day, everything was in order.

It was about three in the afternoon when they got in a limo driven by Haru’s chauffeur to take them to Leblanc. Makoto and Haru were chatting idly while Ren leaned against the door, his elbow propped up by the window and his hand on his face as he watched the city go by. Morgana sat up in his lap, joining him in watching the scenery. Beside him were Genkei and Kunikazu, both silent. Genkei refused to speak to Kunikazu unless necessary, leaving the two in an awkward silence. Genkei sat (as well as a ghost could) with his arms crossed and eyes straight ahead. Kunikazu didn’t complain; he just stared at his daughter with guilt in his eyes.

Ren heard a ringing and felt vibrations in his pocket. He reached for his phone and examined the caller ID. He cringed instinctively and felt dread as he saw it say the caller was his father. Morgana hissed loudly.

“Oh, hell no! Not them!”

Ren saw Morgana had turned away from the window. He stared, his ears pinned back in distaste at his phone. 

“Who is it?” Makoto asked. Ren stared down at the phone as it continued to ring. Morgana hissed again as he spat out the answer.

“His dad.”

Ren took a breath and began to extend his thumb toward the answer button, only for it to be swatted by Morgana. “What are you doing?!”

“I can take whatever they want to tell me.” Ren huffed. “Besides, if I don’t answer soon—“ The phone stopped ringing. He rolled his eyes. “—aaand there it goes.”

“Forget them,” Morgana huffed, “if it’s that important, they’ll—”

The phone began to ring again. Ren shared a hesitant look with everyone before sighing and answering, lifting the phone to his ear.

“Hello...?”

_ “What did you **do?”** _

Ren felt his heart freeze at the cold and deceptively calm tone of his father’s voice. He cleared his throat.

“I don’t know what—”

_“Don’t play dumb with me!”_ his father snapped, his loving tone long gone. _“You told Sakura-san about your hallucinations, didn’t you?!”_

“They’re NOT hallucinations!” Morgana yowled in outrage. The others’ faces immediately shifted to dread and outrage as Ren winced and pulled his ear away from the phone. 

_“Who else did you tell?”_ his father demanded. _“Who else have you lied to?!”_

Ren jerked. He blanched. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

_ “Do you think we’re idiots?! I thought better of you, Ren! We thought you were finally past this! You betrayed our trust, and humiliated—” _

The phone was snapped out of Ren’s hand. He looked up to see Haru had snatched the phone from him and was glaring intensely at the screen as she lifted it to her face.

**“THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH YOUR SON!”** she screamed, and quickly ended the call as she slammed her thumb on the end call button. Ren gasped.

“Haru!”

Haru scowled and looked up at him. He belatedly realized tears were on his face as she did so, and wiped at his face. “Forget them! We’ll change their hearts as soon as the rest of the team meets up!” she snapped. Makoto nodded, fire in her eyes.

“We’re not going to sit here and tolerate him talking to you like that!” As his phone rang again, Makoto slammed her index finger against the screen, rejecting the call. Genkei grinned.

“That’s my girl!” he said proudly. 

“You need to send them a calling card.” Okumura said in a matter-of-fact way. “Their hearts need to be changed today. Disastrous consequences can come from ignoring controlling parents...” He sighed shamefully. “As I would know. God, I don’t even want to think about what I would have done to my poor daughter before my change of heart if Haru could see ghosts...”

The phone buzzed, this time with a text. Futaba’s name and icon came up.

_**Futaba:** Aaaand your parents are blocked. They can’t text or call you now. Sorry that took me so long. _

_**Futaba:** Texting them a calling card now and letting everyone know we need to meet up ASAP.  _

_**Futaba:** Sorry Ren but we have to do this like right now  _

Ren was silent as Haru passed the phone back to him. He stared down at the screen, tears still running down his face as he shakily texted back a short “thanks” to her. Morgana reached up to bat his cheek with a paw.

“Hey,” he whispered, “they’re wrong, not you.”

“I’ll make their Shadows scream for mercy...” Haru said coldly, a murderous look in her eyes. The others gave her a mildly disturbed look. Makoto cleared her throat.

“Uh... you know we’re not killing them, right?”

“Of course I do!” Haru huffed. “If we did, they might not feel the true extent of emotional pain they deserve to suffer for what they did. We owe them no mercy.”

“Jesus Christ...” Genkei muttered with a shake of the head. Okumura blinked and smiled slightly, proudly. 

“... Show them no mercy, Haru.” he said with that same tone in his voice that Haru had. “Make his idiotic parents feel the emotional anguish they deserve... like you did for me.”

Genkei shared a disturbed look with Ren.

“Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree...” he mused dryly.

* * *

“... Have you considered that maybe your son blocked you because of how you’ve been gaslighting him for the last thirteen years? And no, I don’t know anything about the calling card you were sent!”

The group came to Leblanc to find Sojiro arguing with Ren’s parents on the phone. The man’s eyes were hard and angry and his face was a bright red. Wakaba was at his side looking just as angry; her arms were crossed tightly and she tapped a finger up and down over an arm . Ryuji, Yusuke, Ann, and Futaba were all waiting already and shaking with just as much rage. 

As Ren stepped inside, Ryuji stood up from the booth he was in and clenched his fists. “Good. You’re here. Let’s go!”

Sojiro winced and pulled his ear away from his phone. Ren could make out incoherent yelling as he hung up. The man groaned and shoved the phone in his pocket. “God, your parents are assholes. Go deal with them now; they said they’re on their way now to get you. You have about three hours before they get here.”

“That’s more than enough time.” Morgana piped up from the bag, a determined look in his eyes. “I’ll go at top speed! We’ll be in and out within an hour!”

“Let’s get them!” Ann declared, standing as well. Yusuke stood, too, a dangerously angry look in his eyes

“Finally, the hour of vindication comes...”

* * *

Shadows fled from the speeding Monamobile as they drove through the winding halls of Mementos like a bat out of hell. Queen was at the wheel while Joker sat in the back, mentally preparing himself for the moment to come. His head was down, and he clasped his hands together quietly, twiddling his thumbs.

“Hey, Joker,” Oracle asked hesitantly, drawing his attention. “If you don’t want to answer this, you don’t have to, but... do you know why your parents are so hellbent on denying the ghost thing? It seems weird how intense they get about it...”

Joker shook his head. “No. They’ve always just violently shut me down, no explanation. It’s been like that from the start.”

“Don’t you think that’s weird?” Panther mused, running her fingers through one of her pigtails. “You started when you were really young, right? I remember you told us the whole thing when they screamed at you when you were three after a funeral.” 

Skull nodded, crossing his legs. “Most folks’d just think their kid has a wild imagination or be at most sorta weirded out. Weird that they got so mad about it that early...”

“Makes me wonder if they’re hiding something... or just extremely in denial.” Mona commented, his voice reverberating through the car. Joker sighed and shrugged, leaning forward.

“We’ll know soon enough.” He looked up and gave everyone an appreciative look. “Thanks for being willing to do this.”

“It’s what we do.” Queen said from the wheel. “Plus, you’re our friend, as well as our leader.”

“It’s the least we can do after all you’ve for us and others.” Noir agreed. Skull reached around Joker’s shoulders and squeezed reassuringly.

“It’s gonna be okay, man. We’ll handle it.”

Oracle threw her arms around his waist and squeezed tight, too. Joker smiled tiredly and stretched an arm out both way, hugging Skull and Oracle back. 

“Thanks, guys.” he murmured. The rest of the drive was quiet until they approached and paused before a swirling red and black morass. 

“Are you ready, Joker?” Queen asked softly. Joker nodded stiffly.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

With that, the Monamobile leaped through the portal and into the chamber containing his parents’ Shadows. As everyone rolled out and Mona transformed back to normal, they got a good look at the Shadows.

Joker recognized the facial shape he shared with his father, a man with short black hair, and his mother, a woman with long, curly black hair like his. The only difference was their eyes were golden, typical of Shadows. He could hear angry muttering as soon as he exited the vehicle, and stopped to stare from a distance at them.

Skull put a hand on his shoulder. Joker stiffened and willed himself to walk forward, the whole team in tow as they came up on the couple, angry looks in their eyes. The Shadows immediately focused on Joker.

“Ren?” his father started coldly. “You have the nerve to show your face after defying your parents and humiliating us? With friends, even... what are you all doing here? I’d have thought you’d leave him over his little secret...”

Queen’s fists clenched around the handles of her brass knuckles. “Don’t assume we’re narrow-minded just like you are.”

“We’re here for your hearts.” Joker added stiffly.

His mother scowled. “Us? Our hearts? After all we did for you?”

Panther scowled. “‘After all we did for you?’ Give me a break! You emotionally abused him for years!”

“We’re putting an end to your distorted desires.” Fox snapped bitterly, his eyes narrowed and his hands on the hilt of his katana. “I don’t know why you desire so much to stifle your son’s gift, but regardless of reason, we will do away with it.”

“His gift...?” His father huffed and shook his head. “Seeing ghosts isn’t a gift. It’s a curse, and a shameful one at that. It has plagued our family for far too long.”

All of them went silent. They stared, paling, at the Shadows. 

“Why did you phrase it like that?” Mona questioned bluntly. “That seems like a weird way to refer to something you think is all in his head.”

“That’s because it’s not all in his head.” his mother snapped. “We’re not fools.“

Joker felt light-headed and almost like puking as he stared at them with a blank expression.A chorus of scandalized gasps escaped the team. After a moment of silence, he took a step forward. “You... you knew I wasn’t crazy?” he whispered shakily. “And you... still kept trying to ‘fix’ me?” His voice rose in volume. “When did you realize I wasn’t crazy but decided to keep doing that anyways?” 

His father just shrugged.

“We knew from the start.”

The nonchalant response silenced the room again for a good few moments. Joker froze, as did the rest of his team. He couldn’t reply properly for a minute before he spoke again slowly. 

“Say that again.”

His mother sniffed. “We knew the whole time. We know you’re not crazy; we’ve always known you really can see ghosts.”

“WHAT?!” Skull bellowed in outrage, charging forward by Joker’s side as the leader stood, blank-faced. He jabbed a finger in their direction, but they remained calm. “You KNEW?! Why the hell would you tell him it’s all in his head, then?! The hell is WRONG with you?!”

“It was for the best!” His father dismissed with a wave of the hand. “We had little hope of making it stop, but we had to try anyways. Society is unkind to those who are different. My mother was an outcast, and thus, so was I.” 

The team gasped. Joker gaped. “Grandmother... she shared my gift?”

His father scowled. “Unfortunately, and she was absolutely shameless about it. Everyone in town knew about her, and we were all shamed as freaks or insane. Worse, she never even seemed remotely bothered by what anyone thought! My father supported her antics, leaving me the laughingstock of the town! I thought the humiliation might finally be over when she died.”

His wife nodded. “We had such high hopes it’d skip you like it skipped your father, so when you started showing... signs... of inheriting her curse, we were devastated.” She shook her head. “All we could do then was nip it in the bud however we could, even if it meant lying to you. It was for your sake as well as ours— it’s best to ignore everything you have to to follow the status quo.” She sighed heavily. “It was such a disappointment when you got arrested... we thought we finally had you keeping your mouth shut to fit in.”

“Mhm.” his father agreed. “I had already suffered enough when I was growing up, with her reputation tainting my own.” He sighed with disappointment and crossed his arms. “We did it because we care about your future and our own reputation as parents. It’s bad enough that you got arrested for sticking your nose into business that wasn’t yours, just like your grandmother always did. We’ll have to try something different to fix you when you return home; we’re moving as soon as we retrieve you to start anew elsewhere.”

“YOU SICK FUCKS!” Skull shouted, face reddened with rage. He stepped forward, already in a stance for battle, his hands clenched tightly around his bat. 

“How DARE you?!” Mona demanded, fur standing on end as he glared at them. “You’ve betrayed and failed your son— our leader! We can’t let this stand!”

Panther growled and stepped forward, glaring powerfully at them. “You should be ashamed of yourselves! Your son suffered in silence and never had anyone to support him until he came to Tokyo! He could have...” Her voice cracked. “He could have done something drastic if he was alone with this for much longer!”

“Ignoring it was a terrible decision.” Queen agreed, her voice shaking with anger. “This is part of who he is— it’s not something he could just ignore! You didn’t protect him, or yourselves. You just hurt him!”

Noir gripped the handle on her ax as she glared at them. “But you weren’t trying to protect him at all, were you? It was always all about yourselves— it was never about doing anything for him. You couldn’t bear to be seen with a son that was different, so you tried to stifle him!”

Fox grit his teeth. “If it wasn’t for your son, my mother would have never known peace! He has a beautiful gift, and you should be ashamed for trying to ‘cure’ what can’t— and shouldn’t— be changed!”

“I reconnected with my mom because of him and got closure!” Oracle cried out, sounding as though tears were stinging her eyes as she sniffled. “How can you say that about him?!” She turned to a frozen Joker. “And he—“ She stopped short as she looked at him and frowned worriedly. Oracle stepped forward and gently patted Joker’s arm. “Joker?”

All eyes turned to the leader. He was looking down, and his long, messy hair hanging in the way made it hard to discern how he was feeling. His fists were clenched. Finally, he picked his head up. His face was red with tears as he scowled at them.

“How could you?” he whispered. “If you really loved me... simply not believing me is one thing, but knowing it’s true and lying, over and over again about such an integral, permanent part of myself...”

His father’s frown softened. “Oh, Ren, we do love you! It hurt us to see you suffer so much from what we had to do, but it was all for your own good. We only want the best for you; you have to learn to—“

“Shut. Up.” Joker hissed. His knuckles tightened around his dagger, and his voice rose from the building rage. “Shut up! _**SHUT UP!**_ You did nothing that ever did me any good, and you damn well know it!”

“We’re taking your hearts!” Panther added coldly. Fox nodded, gritting his teeth as he glared at them. His fingers began to reach for his katana.

“May you feel the pain you wrought upon your son!” 

“You’re gonna regret what you did to him!” Skull cried. His mother scoffed. 

“So ungrateful, after all we did for you out of love!”

The two warped into more monstrous forms. Joker was shaking, but the team charged forward. Queen stopped and patted his back, granting him a reassuring look. Joker swallowed hard and nodded before jumping into the fray.

* * *

Despite there being two of them, the fight was fairly anticlimactic. Their weaknesses were easily targeted and exploited, leading to their defeat after two all-out-attacks. Any smidgeon of guilt Joker might have felt was long gone and replaced with broken, betrayed rage.

All of them pulled back as the fight ended and the Shadows assumed their human shapes again. Both looked utterly horrified, as if they had just awakened from a horrible nightmare.

“Do you see now?” Queen pressed, still gripping her brass knuckles tightly. Hatred and disgust dropped from her words. “You didn’t help him at all. It was all for you.”

Ren’s father broke into a pathetic sob. “... You’re right. We didn’t do that for him, not really. It was really just to spare ourselves adverse attention. We just told ourselves it was all for his sake to justify it...”

His mother covered her face with her hands. “We didn’t want to admit to ourselves that we were emotionally abusing him for our sake... so we told ourselves it was really all for him and eventually became convinced of it.” She sobbed. “What... what have we done?” 

His father hung his head in shame, crying as well. “I disrespected and dishonored my mother and father... and failed my son. Ren, can you ever forgive us?”

Joker stared, hard, at them for a few moments with a stony face. He answered them tersely.

“No.” 

“B— But...” His mother sobbed. “What are we going to do now?”

Joker looked upon them with an icy stare, joined by his team. “I don’t care. Just go away; I don’t want to look at you.“

Both Shadows silenced. Shame riddled their faces as their son and his entire team stared at them with contempt. 

“We’re so sorry.” his father whispered tearfully, and both Shadows vanished, leaving the bud of a treasure behind. As Joker swiped it, it transformed into a brick with a piece of paper tied around it. Queen blinked.

“Is that... a brick? With a letter?”

Joker nodded and quietly extracted the letter, dropping the brick. He opened the crumpled paper, and immediately the contents plunged a cold knife into his heart. 

**WITCH** , it screamed in a blocky, red marker. The team cringed as they looked upon it.

“I wonder if someone tossed this through the window into their house at some point.” Queen wondered aloud. “This must have been what caused their desires to become corrupted.”

“Oh, that’s fucked up!” Skull cried, dismayed. “Who does that?!”

Joker shrugged as he crushed the letter in his fist before tearing it to shreds; he shook all the while.

“Let’s go.” he muttered. His voice shook with anger in every word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone’s wondering where Ren’s grandparents are, that’ll be addressed in a later chapter.


	33. Repentance

While the group seethed all the way back home, Joker was silent. He sat in the back of the Monamobile, shaking wordlessly while Oracle tried to soothe him to little avail. Eventually, they returned to the real world, and with great reluctance, disbanded after Ren insisted he needed time to himself. The only one he allowed to tag along was Makoto, though he stopped to speak to a glum-looking Haru before she took off.

“Haru, I want to apologize to you.”

The girl gave him a befuddled stare and put a hand on her chest. “To me?”

Ren nodded and sighed shamefully. “I’m sorry about that whole debacle with my parents today. You’re already dealing with enough as it is with your own father, an—”

He was silenced as Haru wrapped her arms around him. After a moment, he raised his arms and hugged her back. She sighed. “Don’t apologize, Ren-kun. You’ve done so much for Father and I; I was happy to return the favor. And if anything, fighting was cathartic. Stress-relieving. I’m glad we did it.” She pulled back and grasped his hands in hers, her eyes glistening. “We’re friends, aren’t we? We help each other. You don’t have to feel bad for needing help when you did. And...” She nodded slowly, a serious look in her eyes. “I hope you finally really, truly understand how wrong your parents were and how blessed you are. I’m lucky to have you as a friend.”

Ren blinked a few times. He hung his head and sighed, but was smiling as he looked back up at her. “Thanks, Haru.”

She smiled back softly. “Anytime. Take care of yourself, okay?”

“I’ll try. See you tomorrow? Boss said I can take as many days off as you need so I can help.”

The girl thanked him and hugged him again briefly before bidding farewell. Ren, Makoto, Futaba, and Morgana returned to Yongen. As they entered the shop, they saw Sojiro sitting at a stool. Wakaba stood beside him, her hands clasped together. Boss had been reading a newspaper with quiet anxiety, though the jingle of the bell above the door snapped him to attention.

“You’re back.” he said quietly. At Ren’s strange, exhausted expression, he frowned. “Did it work?”

“It did.” He took a deep breath and looked down. “Their... other selves told me they knew the whole time. That they had been lying to me all along just to keep me quiet and make me think it wasn’t real because they were embarrassed of me.”

“Bastards...” Wakaba grumbled.

Sojiro just sighed, closed his eyes, and shook his head, grimacing. “I wish I could say I was surprised, but... I had my suspicions.” He opened his eyes and scowled. “But still... it sickens me to have it confirmed. That’s sick.” He scratched the side of his head. “Your parents kept trying to call— I’m assuming whoever wasn’t driving was doing it— but they stopped abruptly about an hour ago. Radio silence.”

“That’s about when the change of heart was successful.” Makoto agreed. She brushed a lock of hair back. “Do you think they’re still coming, then?”

Sojiro shrugged. “Impossible to say, but if they do show up... do you want me to tell them you don’t want to see them, kid?” 

Ren didn’t respond right away. Sojiro and Makoto gave him befuddled looks as he looked down and shrugged. “I... I don’t know.” He picked his head up. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m so mad I don’t even want to look that them, but they revealed that my gift was inherited. Grandma was like me. They almost never talked about her... if I could just ask them about her...” He scowled and crossed his arms. “But at the same time...”

“You think about it.” Sojiro murmured. “Why don’t you all just relax? I’ll make us dinner.”

Futaba grumbled and fidgeted with her fingers anxiously. “I know you want to be alone, but... can we stay until dinner is ready? I want curry.” 

Ren smiled mischievously at her. “No. You can’t eat here. That’s illegal.”

Futaba smiled and cackled. “Good thing we’re Nasty Crime Children!” She threw her hands up and grinned. “You can’t catch these hands!”

“Our kids are weird.” Wakaba said dryly.

Morgana groaned. “You two are so weird...”

Sojiro rolled his eyes. “You kids are weird.”

Futaba giggled. “Ooh, two hit combo!”

“Three hit combo.” Ren corrected. Futaba threw a proud fist in the air.

“New high score!”

* * *

Ren flipped the sign to closed and joined to others to eat and chat lightly, which helped bring his mood up a bit as he got his mind off of his parents. Futaba was in the middle of regaling Wakaba and Sojiro with a tale of something funny that had happened recently in the Metaverse when the bell above the cafe door jingled. Futaba immediately stopped talking as Sojiro turned to the door. 

“Sorry, we’re clo—”

Everyone froze as Ren recognized his parents in the doorway. Both had tear stained faces and haunted looks in their eyes as they immediately focused on their son.

The reaction was instantaneous. Sojiro almost sprinted to stand in front of the booth Ren and Makoto were sitting in. Futaba jumped into the booth seat behind the couple and glared intensely at his parents while Morgana stood up by Sojiro’s feet and hissed loudly, arching his back. Makoto clutched Ren’s hand and narrowed her eyes. Wakaba’s entire countenance changed to open hostility; it felt as though the temperature in the room dropped several degrees instantly at her rage. 

Ren hadn’t felt anger from her like that since Futaba’s uncle had shown up one evening. 

He was the only one in the room to not move. Ren froze and stared at then in absolute silence. Fear clutched his heart, and he could feel Arsene’s rage burning inside of him. 

“What are you doing here?” Sojiro asked coldly. Ren’s father cleared his throat.

“We need to speak to our son.” He took a breath and shuddered with shame. “We’re not taking him anywhere, but we did... something terrible that we need to confess.”

“I already know what you did.” Ren said coldly. They blinked.

“You do?” his mother gasped. He nodded.

“You lied to me. You knew I could see ghosts all along and lied because I embarrassed you. The Phantom Thieves sent me a calling card telling me everything they found.”

Awkward silence fell. His father exhaled sharply. “... Yes. We did.”

“We feel terrible about it.” his mother said tearfully. Ren scoffed.

“I know you do.”

Silence fell again.

“... Can we talk?” his mother pleaded quietly, desperately. Sojiro grunted and turned to Ren. 

“This is up to you.”

Ren looked around at the others. They still looked angry, but none of them said anything, except for Makoto. She squeezed his hand. “You don’t have to do anything,” she whispered, “but whatever you choose, I’ll be here for you.”

The boy looked down for a moment in contemplation with his typical poker face.It took several moments, but he picked his head up and nodded. “I’ll talk in exchange for you telling me about my grandmother and promising to let me stay in Tokyo.”

“Deal.” his parents quickly said in unison. Sojiro sighed and put a hand on his chin.

“I don’t like this, but... fine. But I’m supervising; I don’t feel comfortable leaving him with you alone.”

“That’s fine.” his mother agreed. Morgana turned and ran to jump into Ren’s lap. The cat sat up, waiting. Futaba remained silent where she was. His parents moved to the booth seat opposite them and sat down. Their eyes went to Makoto. His father quirked a brow.

“Who’s these girls?”

“I’m Makoto Niijima.” Makoto said coolly. “I’m his girlfriend.”

His mother’s dour countenance changed in an instant to unrestrained delight. “Really?!” Ren cleared his throat, and she immediately deflated and coughed. “Sorry. If this wasn’t such a bad situation, I’d be gushing and asking for details right now.”

“Thank God we’re skipping that.” Ren groaned. He looked at Futaba, who looked at him nervously and looked at them, then him and let out an audible anxious grumble. She nodded toward them, and finally, Ren spoke up. “This is Futaba. She’s—”

“—my daughter.” Sojiro gruffly cut in with a huff. “She’s practically a sister to Ren at this point.”

Futaba tugged at Ren’s shoulder. “Where’s Mom?”

“Right there.” he said, and pointed to where the angry ghost was still radiating cold, unsettling rage by her daughter. Futaba threw a hand out, glaring at his parents.

“A—And this is my mom! Wakaba Isshiki! Who Ren helped, and helped us!”

Neither parent looked surprised. His father just shivered. “I had a suspicion there was a ghost present. I know this feeling of an angry ghost too well. Mom was always good at settling them down, but we deserve this.” 

“He’s my son now,” Wakaba snapped, “because apparently you don’t know how to treat him.”

Ren didn’t say anything. His father cleared his throat and continued. “Anyways, yes. Your grandmother could see ghosts, too. It skipped me, which was a surprise; my parents expected me to have that, too. Your great grandmother could also see ghosts. I’m told she was the first in the family line who was able to do this, but honestly, who can say for sure?” He sighed shamefully and looked down. “I felt envious and robbed that I couldn’t see ghosts until I saw how much disdain my mother was subjected to.”

“Was she subject to things like having bricks thrown through the window?” Ren guessed. His parents gave him a mildly surprised look and nodded.

“Yes, as a matter of fact.” He crossed his arms. “Anyways... your grandmother was nothing short of a character.” He put a hand on his chin and managed a wry smile. “She stuck her nose up at any and all social mores and expectations. She was something of a hippie; a true free spirit, far ahead of her times. Live and let live was her motto.” He grimaced. “She was also incredibly proud of her power to see the dead and made absolutely no effort to hide it.”

Sojiro glanced at Ren and chuckled. “So, being a rebellious punk is also genetic, huh?”

“Apparently.” Ren huffed with an eye roll. His father sighed and scratched his head.

“As you might imagine, in Japanese society, her behavior was heavily frowned upon and shunned. In spite of that, she never seemed to care.” He shook his head. “She had very few friends— but the very few she had were loyal almost to a fault, and similarly eccentric. Your grandfather was among them; I’m told they met because he himself was different. He was probably on the autism spectrum and tried to mask himself to fit in, but he wasn’t very good at it. She always encouraged him to be himself and loved him deeply.”

His mother put her hand on her chin and looked up at her husband, then her son. “So they married and had your father. He didn’t inherit her gift, but still was not popular with others because no matter how hard he tried, his parents’ reputation was too much. He had a hard time growing up.”

The man nodded. “I had rocks, eggs, and other charming projectiles tossed at me from time to time. Sometimes they’d just hurl insults. Mom never seemed to care— she told me to pity them for being so close-minded, but it never solved the problem.” He looked fondly at his wife. “I met her on the way to high school. She protected me from an egg by opening her umbrella and used it as a shield.”

“People were awful to him.” she sighed. “His mother meant well, but she didn’t do enough to try to help him. She just expected he would follow in her footsteps and not give a damn.”

Silence fell. Ren scowled. “So why didn’t you just explain and tell me to be careful about my secret? Why did you have to tell me I was crazy?”

His parents cringed with guilt. His father sighed and winced. “... Because we’re idiots. It really all came to a head, though, the night I was going to propose to your mother. A brick was thrown through the window with an insulting letter attached right as I got on one knee.” He grimaced. “Just when I was getting past her giving us all a bad reputation... that happened. It wasn’t even the first time we’d gotten a brick through the window. We had that, open glares on the street, death threats in the mail, even.”

His mother nodded. “When I became pregnant with you, we were terrified that you would be like her... we didn’t want you to suffer the same sort of ostracism.” She shook her head. “Well, that was certainly part of it. We actually knew that you inherited her gift from infancy, because you would occasionally reach out to what looked like nothing, babbling ‘gramma.’” 

“Your grandpa was ecstatic.” his father added. His eyes were down with shame and regret. “She died from cancer about a year before you were born. Grandpa’s health drastically deteriorated after her passing, but you gave him hope in his last years. He gushed to us about how wonderful you were and how happy he was that his grandson carried part of what made his wife so wonderful, and how he was looking forward to seeing grandma again...” He looked up with a grimace. “He knew we weren’t exactly thrilled, but he made us promise to do whatever it took to help you with your gift. Finally, when he died, he told you to say to us that he and grandma said goodbye, and that they were going into the light.”

His mother nodded. “That’s when we saw an opportunity. He and your grandma were no longer there to shame us.” She sobbed with shame. “So... when you told us they said ‘bye-bye’ and that they disappeared into what you called a bright light, we saw our chance to try to stifle what was already bringing us rumors and whispers.”

Ren’s eyes narrowed. Makoto squeezed his hand and  joined him in glaring at them. “So you didn’t just lie to me for years, you broke a promise you made to grandpa?” They nodded in silence. Ren grit his teeth. “I appreciate finally knowing the truth, but... this only makes me even angrier with you.”

“Rightfully so. We handled it in the worst way possible.” his father agreed glumly. “We should have tried harder to teach you about your power and why you should keep it to yourself. Instead, we just screamed and hoped it’d all go away.” He shook his head. “I especially feel terrible, knowing I dishonored and disgraced my father as well as my mother.”

“We betrayed their faith and their trust in us.” his mother concluded mournfully. “That hurts us almost as much to know. He was always such a kind man, so loving, so loyal to his wife. Her reputation never bothered him in the slightest. He’d just say ‘to hell with them!’ Plus, he was always so kind to me, too, and treated me like his own daughter. My parents weren’t good people— I cut ties with them as soon as I left for college, so he took it on himself to be a father figure to me.”

She wept and hunched over, hugging herself. “I know... I must have really, really disappointed both of them for what we did. Especially after all they did for me; I spat in the face of all they did just because we were unrightfully ashamed and didn’t think about what was best for you.”

“We really fucked up, huh?” his father murmured. Ren stared at them in absolute silence for several moments before nodding stiffly.

“Yeah. You did. Big time.” he said bluntly. Both parents broke into muffled sobs of guilt. The boy crossed his arms and scowled. “Stop. I don’t want to hear it.” The two stared at him with wide eyes that made them look as though they had been shot through the heart, but neither protested or tried to defend themselves. Ren leaned forward. “You manipulated me, gaslit me, tried to change me, and weren’t on my side when I needed you the most. I have no words for how angry I am with you, and that’s a wound that’s never going to heal. You’ve betrayed my trust, and it took the Phantom Thieves to unveil that.”

Neither said anything. They just hung their heads in silence. Ren was silent for a minute before taking a deep breath and exhaling sharply. “But... I know that in spite of all of that... maybe I still love you, deep down. You weren’t always complete assholes to me, but...” He shook his head, his voice shaking. “I can’t. I can’t do this. I can’t forgive what you did.” The boy glared at them. “Go home. I need to heal, away from you. Maybe eventually we’ll reconnect, but... that’ll be on my terms.”

His parents stared quietly and soberly at him. They shared a look, swallowed hard, and turned back to their son. “We understand.” his mother murmured. She turned to Sojiro, who was still sitting quietly. “We have no right to ask you of this, but... will you keep taking care of our son? Even when his probation is over.”

“It’d be my pleasure.” Sojiro agreed with a small smile. “Your son’s a great kid, practically my own son at this point. After all he did for us and our family, we’d be thanking you for letting us keep him.”

Ren’s father smiled weakly. “That makes us so proud to hear... thank for being the one to succeed where we failed, Sakura-san. He deserves that sort of parent in his life.” He nodded stiffly. “We’ll send checks monthly to help with paying for his care and leave the rest to you. You clearly know what you’re doing.”

The two rose to their feet, but Ren’s father stopped partway. A conflicted look came across his face, causing his wife to stop and give him a briefly befuddled look. Sojiro and the kids just stared in silence as his father hesitated.

“... Hey, Ren?” his father asked hesitantly.

“Hm?”

He hesitated again before he looked up at him curiously. “Are you... part of the Phantom Thieves...?”

“Don’t say anything.” Wakaba hissed. Ren obeyed and didn’t say anything. The others flinched, but he just elected to remain silent and look away. His parents were equally silent until his father shook his head. 

“... Never mind. Don’t tell me. Just... don’t do anything stupid, okay?”

“I’ll try not to.” 

After a few more awkward moments, his parents began to depart. Partway out the door, his mother stopped, turned around, and hugged her son. Ren quietly allowed it as she wept. She pulled back, kissed his forehead, and with one last reluctant look backwards, they departed into the night.

* * *

Futaba and Morgana decided to leave the couple be for awhile, though Futaba had hugged Ren before returning home with Morgana.

“I’m glad you’re staying.” she whispered. Ren smiled softly.

“Me too.”

Ren found himself sitting on the sofa with Makoto. For awhile, the two just held each other quietly. Makoto traced little swirls with her finger along Ren’s back, and the only sound was their quiet breathing. His expression was impossible to read behind his glasses, no matter how hard Makoto tried.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she finally whispered. The boy didn’t respond right away. He stilled and looked down. Makoto didn’t press him and resumed tracing her finger along his back.

“You know, my parents weren’t always assholes.” Ren murmured, breaking the silence with a forced quiet, calm voice. “Outside of the ghost thing, they were... what I thought were good parents. They spent time with me, they read to me, took me to the park, helped me with homework, and hardly ever yelled. So I thought... maybe they weren’t so bad. Maybe I would be a bad son if I forgot all the good things they did and changed their hearts.” He scoffed and pulled his hand away from his hair. “But in the end, it doesn’t matter. They betrayed my trust for years over and over again for their own interests. I can’t let that go.”

“Understandably.” Makoto sighed, squeezing him. “Just because an abuser is nice to you some or even most of the time doesn’t mean they’re not an abuser.” 

Ren sighed and held her tight. “I know that, now. Thanks for being so patient with me.” He grimaced. “I really need to apologize to everyone for this. I’ve embarrassed myself.” The boy reddened. “All the humiliating family and emotional baggage out for everyone to see, plus all the crying I’ve done lately in front of others.” He winced and shook his head. “I’m supposed to be the leader. I have to be strong for all of you and not burden anyone with my problems. It’s unbecoming of—”

“Shh. No, it’s not. You have nothing to be embarrassed about.” she refuted. “You’re just human, Ren, and we all know that. That doesn’t make you any less of a leader, and we certainly don’t think any less of you— especially given the circumstances. Any of us would be crying far more than you did. Many of us have cried in front of you before; you were our rock when we needed it. Let us be yours.” She squeezed him. “Let me be your rock, just like you are for me. We’re equal partners, aren’t we?”

Ren smiled softly and squeezed her back. “We are.”

“Then don’t be afraid to be human, especially in front of me.” She put a hand on his cheek and smiled softly. “Just remember that no matter what anyone says, I— not just me, all of us love you just the way you are.”

Ren wiped at his eyes and sighed with a wry smile. “You’re doing this on purpose, I know it.”

“Or maybe you’re just a big, soft-hearted sweetheart under that poker face.” 

“Don’t call me out like this.” he laughed. She giggled.

“It’s too late. It’s out there.”

Ren sighed dramatically, throwing an arm back over his forehead while she giggled. After a moment, he lowered his arm, and his expression grew serious. “Um... I don’t mean to kill the mood, but... just know I’ll be here for you in the same way through Sae’s Palace. We need to deal with that next, and I know it’s gonna be tough on you. Even so, I’ll be available— no matter what, okay?” 

The girl let out a weary sigh and nodded. “I appreciate that... thank you, Ren. I’ll take you up on that.”

He nodded. A silence fell as they held each other for a few minutes quietly. Ren processed his feelings— while there was still a great deal of resentment, fury, and mournfulness over the day’s events, he felt something else just a bit stronger. Ren felt something fluttery and warm as he thought of how his friends stood up for him, how Wakaba and Sojiro had called him their son, how he knew it was finally over, and how he knew he no longer had to hide or be ashamed.

He was loved. That was the feeling; it tickled and felt funny in his chest, but it helped soothe the frayed nerves and exhaustion he felt. 

And just as soon as he realized it, he realized he had to verbalize it.

“Hey, Makoto?” he whispered. She looked up at him curiously.

“Yes, Ren?”

“... I love you.” 

There was a pause, then a giggle. “I love you, too.” 

Makoto reached up to kiss him, but stopped partway as Ren’s phone began to buzz. She sighed and pulled back as he groaned in frustration. “You should check that. It might be Haru.”

He silently nodded and pulled his phone out of his pocket. It wasn’t Haru, but he saw a number of texts from Ryuji.

_**Ryuji:** so Makoto’s sis did come by. She claimed she was talking students about the Phantom Thieves incidents and wanted to ask me a few questions. She asked if I or a friend or “significant other” had seen any suspicious activity. _

_**Ryuji:** I said neither me or you, my “boyfriend” had seen anything and long story short she now believes you are the gayest man in Japan _

_**Ryuji:** you owe me one _

“Sis, oh my god, _why?!”_ Makoto cried. She reddened and covered her face with both hands while Ren audibly snorted and began to text Ryuji back.

_**Ren:** I owe you my life. Thanks, man. _

_**Ren:** Do I get a trophy for being the Gayest Man in Japan? _

_**Ryuji:** eff off if anyone deserves a trophy it’s me _

_**Ren:** Alright, point. Monja and ramen is on me. _

_**Ryuji:** sick _

_**Ryuji** : don’t make the joke  _

_**Ren:** It’s a date! _

_**Ryuji:** GDI _

“Congrats, Makoto,” Ren said with a very Joker-like smirk, “you’re now dating the gayest man in Japan.”

Makoto sighed and shook her head. “Maybe one day you’ll love me as much as Ryuji.” She reached back up to kiss him. He melted right into it, but paused and pulled back a bit, prompting her to give him a befuddled look. “What’s wrong? My dad isn’t here, is he?”

“No,” Ren said with that same Joker smirk crawling on his face, “it’s just... you sure we should be kissing? You know I’m the gayest man in Japan. I guess I traded the bisexual agenda for the gay agenda.”

Makoto snorted and shoved his chest playfully. A giggling fit ensued from both of them before they began to kiss again. They kissed for he didn’t know how long when he heard an unfortunate voice.

“Ren, how are you aft— oh, goddamn it.”

Ren pulled away with a start and stared, reddening at a bewildered Genkei. Makoto looked where he was looking wordlessly. After a moment, she cupped his cheek and pulled him in for another kiss. 

“Wh— Mako—” 

“Shh. He can’t stop us.”

Genkei groaned as he disappeared.

“I really need to remember to ask Wakaba before I go barging in...”


	34. Exposition

Ren spent the next few days out of school helping Haru and her father settle affairs. Eventually, plans were set for the funeral and Okumura’s estate, all of which was going to a bewildered Haru.

“Don’t fret,” her father had said, “I’ll have Ren help me help you with managing it all. I’ll have him tell you who you can trust and who you can’t.”

While Haru was suffering, Ren was a welcome relief that she would end up thanking again and again. In the meanwhile, he tried to ignore the news and the Phansite to ease his frayed nerves from the last few days, and the team agreed to keep a low profile for the time being. Futaba busied herself with something in her room and barely acknowledged anyone who came by in her intense focus.

Of course, Ren couldn’t hide from the world forever. As he expected upon returning to Shujin, the death of Okumura and the Phantom Thieves were the only thing people were gossiping about. No one so much as cast a glance in his direction as they whispered.

_ “Who’s trying to frame the Phantom Thieves?” _

_ “You think it’s true that they were set up?” _

_ “Are they really innocent...?” _

_ “Guess they’re not so powerful after all.” _

_ “Who cares whether they’re innocent or not? They failed.” _

Not long after came exams. Ren did as well as he always did, but still found himself distracted by the daily whispers and gossip. The others took it even worse, particularly Ryuji and Ann. Makoto and Haru did a remarkable job maintaining their composure. 

Any meetings were postponed until after exams. When the first day of classes after exams came, come lunchtime on the rooftop, a status report on the aftermath of the affair was ready.

“So!” Mishima clasped his hands together with a nervous smile. “Welcome back, and sorry for your loss, Okumura-chan.”

“It’s fine,” Haru sighed, “please get on with it, Mishima-kun.”

“Right.” He paused and gave Ren a wide-eyed look. “Erm... is Okumura-san here...?”

Ren sighed and pointed his thumb over his shoulder. Mishima cleared his throat awkwardly and bowed his head. “You... have my condolences, too. Sir.”

Okumura shook his head. “Thank you, but I don’t deserve sympathy. It is what it is. The Phantom Thieves tried their best and at least I died with a changed heart.” At Ren’s silence, he nudged him. “Go on. Speak for me.”

Ren sighed, discomforted. “Your daughter is standing right there...”

”I can take it, Amamiya-kun.” Haru reassured. Ren sighed again and awkwardly muttered what he had said. The girl looked a bit distressed, but nodded in understanding. Mishima cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck.

“... I see.” He crossed his arms. “Good news and bad news. Good news is your warning mitigated some of the blame, and it’s cast doubt on the claims that you killed Okumura. It’s significantly softened the blow.” He grimaced and put his hands in his pockets. “The bad news is... some people still think you killed him, and made up the warning to deflect blame onto someone else. Worse, the police as well as some politicians and officials such as Masayoshi Shido are supporting that theory and calling for the Phantom Thieves’ arrest.”

All of them fidgeted and grit their teeth restlessly. “God damn it,” Ryuji hissed through clenched teeth, “of course that asshole would say that... he knows what he did!”

Ann let out an irritated groan. “Seriously? All of that and we’re STILL being suspected?”

Mishima sighed. “I know, I know, it sucks, but if you guys hadn’t done that, the blow to your reputation would have been way worse.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and held it up. “Opinions appear to be split 50-50 on whether or not you guys are innocent. This situation is a mess, but it’s not going to destroy your image if you can prove who the real killer is.” 

“Have there been any comments from Akechi?” Makoto questioned. Mishima shook his head.

“No. I heard he had surgery a few days ago for appendicitis, so he’s out of commission for now.” Mishima rolled his eyes. “I’m sure he’ll have something obnoxious to say once he’s back.”

“Ugh...” Ryuji grumbled and kicked the ground. “For real?”

“Forget Akechi.” Ann groaned, hugging herself. “This whole situation is scary...”

“We can’t experience mental shutdown,” Ren huffed, “we’re the only ones who CAN stop this. We have a responsibility.”

“That’s the spirit!” Mishima said with a proud smile. “I know it’s scary, but you guys could put a stop to whoever is killing people and causing psychotic breakdowns! If—when you do, you’ll be even bigger heroes of justice, and your reputations will rebound even higher.” 

“We appreciate that, Mishima-kun, but it’s not about reputation.” Haru huffed. Her eyes hardened. “This is about saving lives and getting revenge on who killed my father. We will avenge him, and every life that’s been taken or ruined.”

Her voice dripped with hatred and almost murderous anger, causing the others to all take a silent step backwards. Mishima gave the girl a mildly terrified, wide-eyed look as he cleared his throat and nodded.

“Y—Yeah,” he stammered, “I know you guys can do it... I’ll be rooting for you as always.” He frowned worriedly. “Just be careful, okay?” The boy sighed and gave them a pitying look. “I know you all are devastated, but... don’t blame yourselves, no matter what anyone says. I know you all did everything you could to stop the killer.”

“It happened so fast.” Haru bemoaned, clutching her hands together and frowning sadly. “By the time we saw him, it was too late, but we won’t make that mistake again.” Her eyes hardened. “He’ll pay for this... I’ll get my revenge.”

“Jesus.” Mishima whispered under his breath. He cleared his throat. “Anyways, I should get going. I have complete faith in you guys!”

Mishima scurried off. As the door closed behind him, Ren let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and turned to the two ghosts who had been waiting. Kobayakawa was unusually quiet and his eyes were downcast, while Okumura had his arms crossed and waited patiently.

“Now that that’s done with... we’re ready to deliver our latest news to you.” he said, as if it was business as always. He turned to a quiet Kobayakawa and frowned. “Wake up. We have business.”

“Mhm.” Kobayakawa replied half heartedly, picking his head up. He sighed. “He’s bossy...”

Okumura rolled his eyes and turned back to Ren.

“He was aimlessly wandering the Diet Building before I assigned him to the SIU director.” He sighed. “Anyways, we still don’t have a name. Shido and the SIU director, who I’ve found is a lackey of his, are very careful not to say their assassin’s name on the phone.”

Ren scowled. “Figures.”

“Hold on, I’m not done yet.” Okumura smirked. “That informant of yours just gave us some very useful information. I heard Shido arguing with various people that their agent had been injured, and that his injury was to be covered up at all costs. Their private doctor performed surgery on him and extracted the bullet you lodged in his shoulder; he’s still in recovery, but alive.”

Kobayakawa nodded. “It appears that whoever their agent is is some public figure, because the SIU director was complaining that his brief leave of absence might draw public attention.”

Okumura crossed his arms. “So Shido finally made a decision... their agent’s PR team decided to quietly claim that he was having surgery for appendicitis.” Ren’s brows lifted, and Okumura smiled. “Yes, you understand, don’t you? Don’t you think this is too much of a coincidence?”

Kobayakawa frowned. “But... Akechi-kun? The high school detective? A serial killer? Plus, lots of people have surgery for appendicitis. It could just be coincidence.”

“I don’t think it is.”

All eyes turned to Ren as he turned to his waiting team and shared what their spies brought them. Makoto immediately drew the same conclusion. Her eyes widened, and she put a hand over her mouth. “Akechi is behind this?”

“How can you be sure?” Haru questioned, cocking her head to the side. Ann crossed her arms.

“In June, we actually ran into Akechi at a TV studio for our field trip. He asked if we were going to go eat pancakes because he had heard one of us refer to Dome Town as looking like a pancake.”

Eyes turned to a smug-looking Morgana who was perched calmly on an abandoned desk. “And who do you think said that it looked like that?”

Haru’s eyes widened, and she gasped dramatically. “No... so he’s been to the Metaverse before?”

“He has to have been.” Ren affirmed. “The only people who can understand Morgana are those who have heard him in the Metaverse... and ghosts. Seeing as he’s alive...”

Her eyes filled with fire. “So he’s the killer, huh...?”

“Don’t do anything rash!” Okumura protested. Ren frowned.

“Haru, don’t be rash—”

“And why not?! He killed my father and Futaba’s mother! He’s likely been spying on us! He’s a pest we need to get rid of!”

“We don’t kill!” Ann protested, holding her hands up. Morgana nodded.

“It’s not the Phantom Thief way.” He smirked. “Besides, Haru, there’s much more elegant ways to exact revenge on an enemy... if we carry out our plan, he’ll be exposed and publicly humiliated and shunned as a murderer.” He scratched behind an ear with a foot and returned to focus on her as her brows lifted. “What do you think would hurt him more? A swift death, or a public fall from grace to rock bottom, from which he’ll never recover?”

Haru blinked, and Ann put a hand on her shoulder with a devious smile. “He’s right, you know. There are fates worse than death...”

Okumura grinned while Kobayakawa cringed. “That’s right, Haru. There are better ways than murder... and I don’t want you to throw your life away for me.”

Ren put on a poker face as he shared what the man had said. Haru’s face twisted to malicious and gleeful intent. “If that’s your wish, Father...”

“Jesus...” Ryuji stepped up to Ren and dropped to a whisper, side-eying the girls. “You ever notice the girls on our team are... scary?”

Ren smirked and tucked his hands in his pockets. “That’s not necessarily a bad thing.” 

Ryuji rolled his eyes. “Dial back the thirst, man.” 

“You first.” Ren cleared his throat and got everyone’s attention. “Anyways, while it seems damning now, we need to be 100% sure before we do anything.”

Okumura huffed. “I could deploy one of us to go spy on Akechi, but that’d mean either Kobayakawa or I would have to interrupt our focus on our individual assignments. We could take up more than one target each, but it might mean we could miss information if we aren’t watching our primary targets.” He sighed and shook his head. “Unfortunately, even ghosts can’t be everywhere at once. It’d help if we had more spies.”

“I’ll ask Isshiki-san to investigate Akechi.” Ren reassured. “We need to know what we’re dealing with. I also want you to tell her the names of anyone you had killed—“ At Okumura’s expression, he scowled. “—don’t give me that face. You’re the one who said we need more spies.”

“You made your bed, Father,” Haru agreed sternly, “now lie in it.”

Okumura groaned but nodded wearily. As Kobayakawa snickered, he glared at him. “Oh, shut up.” 

Ren rolled his eyes and turned to his team. “Anyways, next we need to discuss our next move. Let’s meet up after school; Futaba has something she said she wanted to show us.”

“Aye-aye, leader.” Ryuji said proudly. “We’ve got this.”

* * *

Sojiro had been gracious enough to close up shop to allow the group to gather, and even served dinner. Yusuke had practically inhaled his food while Genkei and Wakaba looked on longingly

“I miss being able to eat.” Genkei grumbled. Wakaba sighed, reminiscing as she put a hand on her chin.

“Me, too.”

Ren looked up apologetically at the ghosts and lowered his fork. “Sorry. Can you smell the food?”

“No.” Wakaba sighed. “We can really only hear and see. All other senses are out. Cold, heat, pain, hunger, smell— all are gone.”

“Doesn’t stop us from remembering what it’s like to eat.” Genkei huffed.

“What’d they say?” Ryuji questioned, his mouth full. Ann’s nose wrinkled.

“Ew! Don’t talk with your mouth full!”

Ren shared what they said. Futaba stopped and cocked her head to the side. “I guess that makes sense, but how do you guys see and hear but not anything else?”

Genkei snorted. “Some cognitive bullshit, probably.” 

As soon as they finished, Futaba stood up,leaving her laptop on the counter. She tucked her hands behind her back. “Congrats on surviving midterms.”

Ryuji groaned loudly and flopped back in his seat. He threw his arms back over the seat and closed his eyes. “Barely! Let’s not discuss exams, okay?”

Futaba shook her head and sighed. “F. Anyways...” She looked over the group and pushed her glasses up. “I decided to do some investigating the last few days. While you all were busy, I got to thinking: why was Okumura top of the list on the Phansite? Given that he was targeted by the killer, I couldn’t help but think we had been set up. So I wondered if the Phansite had been tampered with and investigated.”

“What did you find?” Ren pressed. The girl grimaced and shook her head.

“Turns out I was right: it WAS tampered with to make the access counter much higher than it actually was and to propel Okumura to the top of the Phansite’s hit list.”

Morgana grumbled in thought from where he sat on a stool. “So Shido was trying to set us up.” He smiled proudly at Ren. “Too bad for him; he had no idea about our secret weapon.”

“Father...” Haru murmured mournfully. Everyone looked upon her glumly.

“Haru...” Ann whispered. The girl shook her head.

“I’m fine.” she dismissed firmly. “We need to get down to business. On top of that, it sounds like they tried to plant a calling card for the principal. Shido is intent on pinning all past and future crimes on us.”

Sojiro looked pained as Futaba nodded. “That’s not all I found.” she said firmly. “The code I found... well, let me explain. All programmers have quirks in their coding. Kind of like a fingerprint. Whoever wrote this code did it really sloppily; all cut and paste with no actual interest in coding.” Her eyes narrowed. “This code matched the coding style of the fake Medjed from back in summer.”

Gasps arose. Yusuke scowled. “So... he’s been planning this for months.”

“I believe that’s the case.” Makoto agreed coolly, in a matter-of-fact tone. “He likely intended to raise us up just to make our reputation plummet with the death of Okumura... the higher you climb, the harder you fall. It’d be a tidy way to deal with us as well as cover his tracks for the murders.” 

Futaba’s face twisted to anger. “He’ll pay for this...” She held up her phone. “True to what Nishima said, opinions on our innocence are split about 50-50.” She groaned. “An unfortunate thing is a lot of the people who think we’re innocent now believe we’re incompetent children.”

“Oh, come on!” Ann groaned, throwing her hands down. “We took down Medjed, Kaneshiro, Madarame, AND Kamoshida! We even caught onto the fact Okumura was going to be targeted! This one thing is enough to make them turn on us?”

“This is bullshit!” Ryuji groused, scowling. Futaba just sighed and shook her head.

“Most people are dumb and have very short memories. They just see that Okumura died in spite of our efforts. Now a lot of people are saying we should step down and go to the police.” Futaba’s nose wrinkled as she read a comment. “Here’s an example: ‘dear PTs, you’re all way in over your heads and you need to stop because you’re gonna get killed at this rate.’ And another— ‘be responsible and cooperate with the police.’ A lot of people are parroting those two sentiments.” She stuck her tongue out. “Bleh. Condescending. They don’t know anything about our situation! Plus, the cops are probably working for Shido!”

Morgana huffed. “Forget them, and don’t read the comments.” His tail flicked back and forth. “We’re being seen as incompetent, but that’s better than everyone thinking we killed him. It’ll at least make it harder for Shido to pin the crimes on us, for now.” 

“Shido’s already claiming we did it, remember?” Haru pointed out. “He’s saying that our claim is just a cover to divert the blame onto a nonexistent target, and until we can show everyone it’s him, we have no way of refuting the claim.” 

Ryuji stood up, scowling as he threw a shoulder back. “Eff him, and eff everyone doubting us! We can handle this ourselves!” He gestured to Ren. “We got him on our side! With him at the lead and his power, we can turn the tables on Shido, no problem!”

“Don’t get too hasty or do anything too rash.” Sojiro interjected, frowning anxiously. “You may have thrown his plans off, but he’s a clever bastard. He WILL find a way to retaliate or amend his plans, and you all need to be wary.” He lowered his stern gaze at Ren. “Got that? That man is a psychopathic megalomaniac who will stop at nothing. You need to stay low and keep to yourselves. Above all, don’t make any moves until you’re absolutely, 100% certain of how you should proceed.”

“Amen.” Genkei concurred. He nodded at Ren. “Boss is completely right. Tread carefully.”

Ryuji defeated a bit and sighed as he collapsed back into the booth seat with a huff. Ren shared looks with Futaba and Morgana; the three smiled proudly and nodded in silent agreement. He turned to Wakaba and Genkei, who nodded in affirmation before Ren turned to the rest of the team.

“We’ve concocted a plan,” he said with pride, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, “and we’ll all have to work together— ghost and living alike. I gave the ghosts the rundown of the plan already, and now, I think we’re ready to tellall of you...”

Futaba cackled and steepled her fingers together. “Welcome to Operation: Show’s Over.”

* * *

“Whoaaa...” Ryuji breathed, his eyes wide. “This sounds crazy!”

“You guys put a lot of thought into this.” Ann agreed, blinking. Yusuke crossed his arms and looked down in thought for a moment.

“This will be a dangerous, time-consuming, and an incredibly laborious plan,” he mused, “but should it succeed, it would topple the entire house of cards in a single day.” He picked his head up and gave a small smile. “This is the perfect essence and elegance of what we do; we have to do it.”

Sojiro hummed anxiously and scratched the back of his neck. “I don’t know... this seems almost like you kids have a death wish.”

“Count me in.” Haru agreed with no hesitation. She grinned maliciously and clasped her hands together. “This is going to be fun...”

“So are we all in favor?” Makoto demanded. A chorus of agreements arose, and she smirked. “Then it’s settled. Let our mission commence, starting with Sis...” She paused. “... as soon as the school festival is over.” Makoto turned her attention to the other Shujin students. “All of you who go to Shujin will be helping me.”

“Why us?!” Ryuji protested. Ren shrugged and propped his elbows up on the table as he clasped his hands together.

“I’m down.”

“Of course YOU would be. Ass.” Ryuji grumbled. Makoto scowled.

“It will allow us to gather without raising suspicion, and I could use help tallying the votes for the guest speaker. I already worked out Sis’ keywords awhile ago; let’s get this out of the way.”

“Just go help her.” Sojiro agreed bluntly. “Besides, it’ll probably be good for you kids to have a breather after everything that’s happened.”

Haru giggled and smiled. “That sounds like fun. I was looking forward to the school festival!”

“Sounds good to me.” Wakaba said wryly as she looked at a intrigued but hesitant Futaba. She turned to Ren. “Be a dear and tell Futaba I think she should go. She’ll have fun as long as you’re all with her.”

Ren nodded. “Futaba.” he addressed, drawing her attention. “Your mom says she thinks you should come with us to the school festival. That you’ll have fun, provided you stick with us.”

“Really?” Futaba asked, eyes twinkling with excitement. “What is there to do?”

Ann scratched her head. “You, uh... walk around looking at stuff and eat stuff.”

Futaba was quiet a moment before giggling and giving a small smile. “I’m in.”

“If your mother’s sure...” Sojiro said anxiously. He scratched the back of his neck and looked up at where Ren had been looking, in Wakaba’s direction. “Wakaba, are you sure you’ll be okay spying on Akechi? I mean... there’s a good chance that he IS your killer.”

“I’ll be fine.” Wakaba scoffed with a dismissive wave of the hand. “What’s he going to do, kill me again?”

As Ren translated, Sojiro groaned and shook his head. “I don’t even know what’s real and what isn’t anymore. Don’t jinx it.”

“Oh, you’re no fun.” Wakaba teased, sticking her tongue out. Futaba giggled.

“Sojiro, ghosts can only be damaged by silver or enchanted weapons, duh! And he can’t hit what he can’t see.”

“That’s right!” Wakaba laughed, patting Futaba’s head. The girl shivered but smiled affectionately in the direction the pat came from. The ghost nodded. “I’ll get to it. Talk to you kids later.”

With that, the woman vanished.

* * *

The last few days had been excruciating and irritating for Akechi.

The shot had struck part of the subclavian artery, the doctor had said. While Akechi managed to slap a healing spell on himself before leaving, he still returned to the real world with heavy blood loss and internal injuries. Moving the arm had suddenly become agonizing and difficult— especially a problem, given it was his dominant arm. 

“You’re incredibly lucky you’re not dead or on the receiving end of an amputation,” the doctor Shido had assigned him said bluntly, “much more of a delay and you would lost the arm altogether or bled to death. If you had been in the real world for the injury, you almost certainly would have lost the arm at a minimum. The arm will heal, but you may have issues with motor skills in that arm permanently.”

Shido had thrown a fit, of course. He berated him for it, not that Akechi argued back— it just gave him more reason to plot his revenge.

In spite of everything, Akechi couldn’t bring himself to begrudge Amamiya for it. Only an idiot wouldn’t have shot back in self-defense, and it was a damn good shot. He almost respected him for the skillful counterattack. 

Still, the fact remained that he was now reliant on his non-dominant right arm for most tasks for the time being.

“What a pain in the ass.” he growled to himself as he dropped the pen in his right hand, finishing his homework. The hospital bed he laid in was practically a prison to him as he was ordered strictly to rest. He hated it; pain be damned, he wanted to do something other than sit on his ass. 

He was left to think, to ponder how, exactly, the thieves had known he would make an appearance. Shido had been furious and convinced that someone on the inside was a traitor; had Akechi not been in the hospital, he no doubt would be dealing with that, too. His only solace was the fact that the thieves apparently didn’t know WHO the killer was; he reasoned they would have just come after him directly if that was the case.

It wasn’t the first time the thieves had caught him by surprise. He followed each and every one of their changes of heart. A few incidents in particular caught his and Shido’s attention: the corrupt officers who stated that the only person who knew what they were doing was dead. Officer Genkei Niijima, who had been assassinated in what looked like a terrible accident, had been investigating them.

Akechi doubted Sae had any idea— he knew fully well she would have gone for them much sooner if she did. Makoto was technically an option, but the notebook the man carried was locked away from the public eye, having been lifted from his corpse as evidence from the crime scene. It was his best guess that perhaps she remembered the names, if her father had told her about the cases, but even this he found unlikely. 

Officer Niijima was notorious for not talking about his findings until he was ready to make an arrest, not even with his coworkers unless he had to. Sae had said he never divulged case information until it was long since over with. She herself was bothered by this mystery in her investigation too, but had voiced that she strongly doubted her little sister had anything to do with it.

So how did they know all they did? How did they know he was going to kill? What else did they know, and how? Whatever it was vexed him, and Shido was having a conniption. 

His eyelids grew heavy, and he stifled a yawn. No matter, he told himself; he had his orders to start the mission to capture Amamiya with the fall of Sae’s Palace. There was no better way to get information that to talk to the target; he would start his next mission as soon as he was released from the hospital.

Even with his mind buzzing on that last thought, Akechi finally fell asleep. A mother, unseen, sat in a nearby doctor’s chair and stared quietly at her son with the same exhausted expression she always had. Her eyes were dark and listless as she sat in silence. 

“Hello?”

The woman jerked and looked up to see another ghost, a woman she did not recognize with a black bob and glasses. The other ghost smiled. “Ah. Would you happen to be a relative of the boy there?”

The ghost didn’t respond right away. She looked the other ghost up and down appraisingly with a neutral expression on her face. 

“My name is Wakaba Isshiki,” she finally said, “what’s yours?”

The woman didn’t respond immediately. She continued to appraise Wakaba with an inscrutable expression. Wakaba stared right back at her. Eventually, she stood up and clasped her hands together.

“I’m Ayumu Akechi.” she said quietly, her voice small and raspy. “I suspect you have a lot we need to talk about.”


	35. Ayumu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry in advance for this chapter.

“Akechi... Akechi... yet another Akechi...” Ann groaned and tossed a handful of ballots down on the table. “All of them say Akechi!”

“Nuh-uh! No way! We can’t have that effin’ psychopath here!”

“Lower your voice, Ryuji.”

Keeping tally of all the votes ended up being unnecessary. As they sat in the student council office, illuminated by the sunset through the window, the group stared down in dismay at the piles of votes. Most said “Akechi” or “Goro Akechi,” though a few stragglers (perhaps as a joke) wrote “the Phantoms” or “Phantom Thieves” on their votes. Even so, Akechi won by a landslide.

With a weary sigh, Ren shook his head and leaned back. “I doubt he’s going to show, anyways. He’s probably still recovering from... appendicitis.”

“I heard that finally broke the news,” Haru sighed with an eye roll, “he’s been receiving cards and flowers, and is reported to be recovering well and in good spirits.”

Ryuji scoffed and crossed a leg over his knee. “Wonder how they’d feel if they knew what really happened...”

Ann gave Makoto a quizzical look. “So... assuming he says no, who do we invite for the school festival?”

“We usually contact the runner up, but there’s been a few times we had to go without a guest, I’m told.” Makoto shrugged and crossed her arms. “Because the Phantom Thieves, the runners up, are very obviously not an option, third place is...” Her nose wrinkled. “Masayoshi Shido.”

A chorus of groans came. “Damn it,” Morgana cursed from the bag in the chair beside Ren, “can’t they ask for someone that isn’t us that isn’t evil? Who’s 4th place?”

Makoto checked the tally. “‘Risette’...”

Ryuji perked up immediately. “Oh! Let’s invite her, then!”

“Akechi won by a landslide,” Makoto said with an exasperated shake of the head, “it’d be suspicious if we don’t ask him. Plus, I don’t have a way to directly contact Risette!”

Ryuji groaned and flopped backwards, throwing his arms down. “Ughhh... what a pain in the ass!”

Ren sighed and leaned forward. “How about this? We’ll contact Akechi, and if he isn’t available, we’ll just say we couldn’t get a guest. No one would suspect anything, given his condition.”

“I agree.” Makoto huffed, crossing her arms. “They really need to do voting much earlier at this school. Why do they wait until the week before?”

Ren cleared his throat and picked up his phone. He texted a bit, and Makoto’s phone beeped. “Sent you Akechi’s info.”

“Thanks.” Makoto checked her phone and grimaced. “We’re running late. Didn’t Isshiki-san want us to meet today?”

Ren nodded. “She’s bringing the other ghosts, too. She says it’s urgent, and that there’s someone she wants me to meet.” He crossed his arms. “Didn’t say who, but if I had to wager a guess, it’s probably this ghost lady— maybe his mother— that follows Akechi around.”

Ann and Ryuji gave him incredulous looks. “Why didn’t you mention her sooner?!” Ryuji griped. Ren huffed. 

“She always maintained a distance and never said a word to me. She clearly wasn’t cooperative.”

“Maybe that won’t be the case any longer.” Morgana said firmly. “Let’s get going. We’re late as it is.”

* * *

“Thank you all for coming.”

Wakaba addressed the cafe. The shop had been closed, and all the Thieves sat in the booths, while Sojiro stood behind the counter. The ghosts (sans Kobayakawa, who remained on spying duty) stood beside the booths, waiting impatiently. All the living’s eyes were on Ren, while the ghosts’ eyes remained trained on the woman that resembled Akechi standing behind Wakaba. The woman looked exhausted and resigned and just stared at the ground listlessly. Ren recognized her; he had seen her several times before stalking himself and Akechi from a distance, though she never spoke a word to him.

“This is Ayumu Akechi,” she introduced, drawing lifted brows from the ghosts and Ren, “Goro’s mother. She brings important information. Ren, be a dear and introduce her to your friends for us, won’t you?”

“She brought Akechi’s mom.” Ren explained as he looked to the others. Their eyes widened and small gasps came as he cleared his throat. “Her name is Ayumu Akechi.”

“Welcome.” Sojiro greeted calmly. A chorus of mildly bewildered greetings came from everyone. Wakaba cleared her throat.

“Anyways, she’s here because she needs our help.”

Ayumu just stepped forward. Her eyes remained focused on Ren with an intensity he found a bit frightening.

“Shido wants you dead, ghost boy,” she finally said bluntly, “and he’s going to manipulate my son into being the one that kills you.”

The other ghosts sans a very dour Wakaba jumped. They gaped in horror at Ren, and the living shivered at the sudden drop in temperature in the room.

“Oh, that’s not good.” Futaba murmured as she ruefully rubbed her arms. Ryuji shuddered.

“Oh, shit. I can feel it. They’re mad... what the hell did she say?!”

Okumura sobbed, looking immensely guilty. “I was a monster to associate with him... now you’re in danger, too!”

“Oh, shut up!” Genkei snapped, reaching out to try to whack the back of the ghost’s head. His hand went right through his head, but he flinched all the same. “She’s warning us for a reason, dumbass!”

Okumura gasped and deflated, lowering his hands and sighing. ”You are right... my apologies.” His eyes hardened as he scowled. “I owe it to everyone to pull myself together. We need to do something!”

Haru cleared her throat, and Ren turned back to his friends, white-faced. They were all just as pale and anxious, twitching in their seats. With a deep breath, Ren shared the news. 

The reaction was immediate and violent. Sharp gasps escaped all of them, combined with a cry from Futaba and an angry grumble from Sojiro.

“I knew it,” Sojiro snapped, his voice shaking as he clutched a towel rag tightly, “I knew that this would put you kids in danger!”

“We can’t let Akechi—” Ann began, when Haru stood up, a determined look in her eyes. 

“We’ll handle this. I can get Amamiya-kun out of the country in a matter of hours while we take this to Akechi ourselves!”

“I’ll go with him.” Morgana added. “You should send us somewhere he wouldn’t expect—”

“Yeah!” Ryuji agreed, standing up. Fire was in his eyes, and he cracked his knuckles. “We can show him!”

“I can ruin his career,” Futaba snapped, “I can doxx him and release his search history—”

“H—Hold on!” Makoto protested, scowling. “Shouldn’t we at least get more details before we act?!”

“I’ll help you,” Ayumu said seriously, “but you have to promise me you won’t kill Goro.”

Ren nodded and turned to the others; he held a hand up. “Guys— Guys!” 

His voice was calm, yet powerful. The yelling and arguing settled down. Haru and Ryuji stared at him, bewildered, before finally quietly sitting back down. He took a breath and lowered his hand. “Akechi-san says she can help us if we promise not to kill her son.” 

“We don’t kill!” Haru insisted. “Sure, we humiliate and maim our targets a little, but—”

“That’s really not helping, Haru.” Makoto cut in, looking mildly disturbed. The girl sighed and shook her head.

“You take the fun right out of it...”

Ayumu rolled her eyes. “... Anyways.” She locked eyes with Ren. “My son is doing horrible things, and I can’t defend him, but he’s still my baby. I don’t want him dead. Do I have your word?”

“You have my word.” Ren agreed, meeting her gaze steadily. “We don’t kill.“

“Good,” Ayumu said, the serious look on her face unfailing, “because in turn I need your help to stop my son and turn him away from his insane plan to ruin his father...” Her eyes narrowed. “... Masayoshi Shido.”

* * *

The living and dead were still unsettled, shaken as Ayumu shared her story— and what Shido and Akechi had planned.

Sae’s Palace. A “deal.” Murder in the interrogation room.

It was then Futaba jumped out of her seat, eyes wide with excitement. “Ah-HA!” she cried out. “We can use the Palace!”

Quizzical looks followed as she grinned and shared her idea— the plan to dupe Akechi. 

“I don’t like this.” Wakaba said quietly, horror in her eyes. She gave Ren a worried frown. “He’d be in so much danger...”

“He’s in danger as it is now!” Genkei retorted. He sighed heavily and put a hand to his forehead. “I don’t like this, either, but this could be his only chance of survival!”

Okumura groaned and put his face in his hands. “This is a terrible situation, but... I think he’s right...”

Wakaba grit her teeth and clenched her hands. “But...!” She let out a frustrated wail that echoed through the building. The room silenced as Ren belatedly realized the living had been arguing amongst themselves. All of them went silent, wide eyed, and shivered. He himself felt like he was in a freezer as Wakaba sobbed.

“What’s going on?” Futaba asked quietly. Ren grimaced.

“Um... Mom’s not happy. At all.”

“I’m not, either.” Sojiro griped, scratching his head. He looked as pained as she did. “Do you have a death wish?!”

“Do you have any other suggestions?” Ren snapped, a bit harder than he intended. As eyes flew to him, he shuddered and grimaced. He put his hands in his lap and looked down. “I know the risks! But I know the stakes. We have no choice but this.”

Silence fell over the room, punctuated by a sob from Wakaba. Ayumu just nodded grimly and looked at Ren seriously. “I’m sorry to put you in this position, but my son and Shido need to be stopped. You know now that Goro has an ill-fated plan to humiliate his father, but he’s going to get himself killed.”

“Still makes my head spin...” Ren muttered. “Goro is Shido’s son...”

“This is effin’ nuts...” Ryuji muttered. He grimaced. “HE’S effin’ nuts!”

“How does he think his plan is even going to pan out?!” Futaba agreed in dismay. “‘Surprise, I’m your kid, you made me kill for you!’ ‘Oh noooo, whatever shall I do?’ When really what’s going to happen is Shido will be like ‘cool, guess I’ll kill you now.’”

“What a fool...” Yusuke huffed with a shake of his head. 

“... There’s one other thing.” Ayumu said seriously. Ren looked up quizzically as she met his eyes. “Something you need to know.”

“And that is...?”

Her voice was dead serious, her expression hard. 

“Shido is the one who ruined your life. He’s the one who accused you of assault.”

The chill in the air intensified even more. A primal fear was struck in everyone’s hearts as Wakaba’s eyes filled with fire. She stomped a foot that went straight through the floor. “That rat bastard! I should have known!”

“Isshiki, calm down!” Genkei snapped. He gestured to the extremely uncomfortable looking living. “They’re feeling attacked!”

“Are you certain, Akechi?” Okumura demanded sternly.

“Hoo, boy...” Sojiro grimaced and crossed his arms with a shiver. “What’s going on now? It feels like we’re in a deep freezer.”

Ren couldn’t bring himself to speak right away. He stammered before finally sharing what was said. Gasps came.

“For real?!” Ryuji gasped. “He’s the one who set you up?! The same guy? For real? Seriously?!”

“I don’t know!” Ren cried defensively. “I can’t even really remember his face...”

Futaba, who had been fussing with her phone, set it down on the table before Ren. It was on a video of Shido speaking. “Is this familiar?” she asked hesitantly.

As the audio played, Ren remembered.

_ Damn brat... I’ll sue! _

_Hey, kid... you don’t want to know what happens when you mess with me_.

The arrest and the encounter in the hotel immediately flashed through his mind.

It was all the same cruel, haughty voice. One that belonged to the man who ruined his life. 

All the color drained from his face again. A horrible, terrified recognition flashed in his eyes. The cold, hard terror he felt that night hit his heart as he remembered the arrest and the fallout. An intense nausea rose to his throat. 

“Ren, breathe.”

Makoto laid a hand on his shoulder as Renshuddered with pain. He looked at her as Futaba quickly shut off her phone and frowned guiltily. “Sorry!”

“I—” Ren took a sharp breath and ran a hand through his thick tresses. “I—It’s okay. I’m okay. I’m okay...” He closed his eyes, pulled his glasses off his face, and took a deep breath as he ran a hand over his face. “... I’m okay. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” Morgana huffed. The cat’s tail flicked back and forth repeatedly as he hopped to Ren’s lap. “Shido’s the one who ruined your life...”

Ren didn’t respond for a minute. He smiled weakly. “Oh... I wouldn’t say he ruined it.”

Morgana blinked, and everyone shared looks. “Eh?” the cat questioned.

“My life is better than before. I have all of you now.”

Some of the tension in the air broke as a chorus of awws escaped the group. Yusuke laughed and put his hands over his chest. “How touching...!”

“Softy!” Futaba giggled, reaching over the table to swat his arm. “You’re a softy!... But I’m glad you’re here, too.”

Genkei grinned. “That’s a good attitude to have.”

Wakaba approached and patted his head again, making him shiver as she smiled at him. He could feel cold air tickling his scalp. Sojiro sighed and shook his head.

“Don’t be so sappy, kid.” He pulled his glasses up and wiped his eyes. “I raised you to be smoother than that.”

“You didn’t raise me at all.”

“With that attitude? Apparently not.” He tsked and shook his head with a small smile. He sighed, and the smile faded in favor of a serious, stern look, to him, and to everyone in the cafe. “Okay, look. Above all, don’t trust Akechi. With anything. Don’t tell him anything, and I mean anything, that he doesn’t need to know.”

Ren smirked. “So I _shouldn’t_ tell him I see dead people?”

“Take this seriously!” Sojiro snapped, slamming a hand down on the counter. “I mean it! This situation is bad enough as it is!”

Ren deflated and held his hands up. “Understood! Understood...” He sighed and turned to Makoto. “Has he responded yet to your text?”

She nodded and brushed back a lock of hair behind an ear. “He did. He said ‘let me think about it’ and that he’d like to, but he’ll need to speak with his physician first.” The girl crossed her arms and scowled. “The fact he says he’s even thinking about it... how hellbent must he be on his plan to go out and about after sustaining a bullet to the shoulder?”

“He’s crazy.” Ryuji remarked bluntly, grimacing. “Who even does that?”

“Akechi, apparently.” Ren stood up and looked over the group. “Everyone... we’re going to play dumb with Akechi when we meet him. We’re going to be shocked when he reveals he knows about the Metaverse, and we’re going to mourn the loss of our team. We have to make sure he’s completely out of the loop.” He turned to the ghosts. “Everyone else, remain spying.”

“I can help with my son,” Ayumu volunteered with a sigh, “much as it pains me to work against him, but he’s what’s keeping me here... him and his father. Just remember our deal.”

“We don’t kill.” he said again with a stiff nod. “Thank you for your help.”

The woman bowed her head and disappeared. Okumura frowned. “Do you think we can trust her?”

Wakaba shrugged and crossed her arms. “She has no reason to love Shido, and no reason to aid her son’s plan, especially given his plan is likely to get himself killed.”

“Touché, but...” Genkei scowled. “Let’s not be too open. Not yet. We’ll see how this pans out.” He turned to Ren. “Can you ask Futaba-chan to make some sort of spyware app to install on his phone? We should make sure her story matches up.”

Ren shared his request, and Futaba hummed nervously, fiddling with her fingers and looking down. “I dunno... it’ll be tricky slipping it onto the phone...”

Morgana sighed forlornly, his ears drooping. “So not even you can’t do this?”

“I didn’t say that!” Futaba protested with a scowl. She put a hand on her chin, closed her eyes, and picked her head back up. She nodded. “I think I’ve got an idea of what we can do.”

“Great.” Ren looked over the team. “Okay, for our other plan to take down Shido, we’ll have to just work this in... we’ll progress and keep Akechi out of the loop. We’ll have to deal with Sae’s Palace as quick as we can to minimize time wasted. Any questions?” 

No one spoke up. Ren pulled his glasses back on and nodded. 

“Alright, then... now, we just have to prepare for when he tries to spring the trap.” He grinned. “Let’s do this like the thieves we are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone got that?


	36. School Festival

The first day of the school festival was mostly fun. The group wandered and ate and visited classrooms set up for the festival. Balloons and streamers lined the halls, and excited chatter came from the students. 

In the afternoon, the group convened by Ren and Ann’s classroom. It had been set up as a maid cafe, and they chattered around a table as they waited for their (microwaved) takoyaki.

“... yeah, it’s way better than my old high school’s shitty festival,” Ren snorted, “a lot more stands. Better food. Better attractions.”

“Was it really that bad?” Haru asked. Ren shrugged.

“I wouldn’t say it was ‘bad,’ given they did what they could with what they had, but it was, er... quaint. Compared to this school.” 

Futaba pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “I’ve never even been to a school festival before. This has been pretty fun!”

Ann smiled. “Well... Shujin Academy has done a lot wrong, but this is the one thing that is always at least half-decent.” 

They heard the _ding_ of a microwave from inside the classroom, and moments later, a girl in a maid costume came out with a tray of takoyaki. 

“Here’s your Russian takoyaki!” she said cheerfully. Ann grinned.

“Ooh! It’s fresh made!”

“Lies! I heard a microwave go off!” Futaba hissed. Makoto frowned at the tray— all takoyaki were misshaped but otherwise edible-looking. However, one was a bright red. 

“Is... the ‘Russian’ epithet a reference to Russian roulette?” she guessed. The maid just smiled and put her hands up.

“Well, one of them is special! That’s all I can tell you.”

“It’s clearly the red one...” Morgana muttered from the bag on Ren’s lap. The group was left staring at the takoyaki hesitantly as the student maid walked back into the classroom. Yusuke sighed wearily and leaned forward. He squinted at them and pulled back.

“Normally, I’d ask for the most beautiful one, but all of them are misshapen...”

Ren’s eyes fell on the red one. Makoto noticed the way his gaze fell and frowned. “You’re not thinking about it, are you?”

“I sure am.” Ren said proudly. “I’m feeling adventurous.”

Ann giggled. “Impressive as always.”

Haru hummed and frowned. “I also want to try it...” She smiled at Ren. “Want to split it?”

“We don’t have a knife...” 

“Oh. Rock, paper, scissors, then?”

Ren nodded, and the two held their hands out. They shook their fists once, twice, and almost had the shape of their chosen weapon out when they heard a voice.

“Ah, everyone’s here.”

Everyone looked up to see Akechi approach their table. Behind him was Ayumu, who quickly met Ren’s gaze. Haru and Ren pulled back, and everyone gave him a wide-eyed look. He frowned. “What’s that look for?”

“We’re just— surprised!” Makoto quickly spoke up. “We didn’t think you were going to be able to make it, much less a day early...”

“Oh.” Akechi smiled. “I decided to check out the venue. I’ve been recovering very well, and feel up to the task. I can’t let these students down, if they want me to speak so much.”

“He shouldn’t be up yet.” Ayumu remarked with a roll of the eyes. She caught Ren’s attention, and Akechi caught Ren looking behind him. The boy frowned.

“Amamiya-kun, is something wrong?”

Ryuji slapped his back, hard. Ren gave a yelp and shrugged, clasping his hands together as he put on a poker face. 

“Sorry. Thought I saw a spider on the wall back there.”

Akechi chuckled. “You’re an arachnophobe? I wouldn’t have guessed.”

“Oh, yeah, big time,” Ryuji lied, “he freezes up if he sees ‘em. Don’t mind him.”

The detective laughed and shook his head. “I’m surprised you of all people are afraid of such a thing. Most spiders are harmless. Anyways...” He sighed. “People at started recognizing me and bombarding me with questions.”

“That’s ‘cuz you were sloppy.” Ryuji muttered under his breath. Ren elbowed him; he wasn’t sure if Akechi noticed. The detective didn’t give any signal he did as he smiled. 

“I grew tired of the baseless rumors they kept bringing up, so I escaped to where there weren’t any people.” 

“Are you doing alright?” Ren questioned, managing to sound genuinely concerned. Akechi nodded.

“I appreciate the concern, but I’m alive, and that’s what matters.” He put his right hand on his chin as he looked at Ren. “It’s also been awhile since the two of us spoke. I was hoping to hear your opinion of the situation of the Phantom Thieves.”

The others stiffened, but Ren just crossed his arms and shrugged nonchalantly. “Honestly? Whole thing is a mess, but I think their claim of innocence is sincere.”

“Hmm. Can you really call them innocent, even if they’re not responsible for the murders?”

Ren scoffed. “Well, they’re at least a lot more innocent than whoever is killing people in cold blood.”

Akechi chuckled. He eyed the red takoyaki and walked forward. He reached for it and grabbed it by the stick with his right hand, earning groans from Ren and Haru. A light of smug mischief seemed to glean in Akechi’s eyes. “You two were trying to decide which of you would get this takoyaki, were you? I’ll settle it for you. Consider this my performance fee.”

They watched as he proceeded to shove the entire takoyaki in his mouth at once. Ann flinched and winced as he bit down on it. 

“Mm, it’s quite delic—” The boy’s eyes sprung open wide, and a somewhat muffled gasp could be heard as he hunched over and covered his mouth. He shook ever-so-slightly. 

Ryuji covered his mouth as well and fought back laughter, shaking even harder than Akechi. Ren could hear him wheeze, and caught the small smile growing on Ayumu’s face. 

“F.” Futaba whispered. Haru scoffed at him as he straightened his back and forced a shaky smile upon his pale white face. His whole body was quivering as he laughed brokenly.

“I— I love s—s—spicy stuff! I’m fine.” He coughed. “W—Well, uh... I’ll— I’ll see you all t—tomorrow!”

With that, he walked away, shaking. Ren, Ryuji, and Futaba were all fighting back mad giggles and snorting behind their hands. 

“Get fucked, Akechi.” Futaba snickered. Makoto cleared her throat.

“If we’re done... did you notice Akechi reached for the takoyaki with his right hand?”

“And he’s left-handed.” Ren affirmed, calming down. He shrugged. “He must still be recovering from the bullet I put in his shoulder. Oops.”

Haru shook her head. “I hope you’re only saying ‘oops’ because you missed a vital artery. What a pity.”

“Wouldn’t he have to deal with him as a ghost if that was the case?” Yusuke questioned dryly with a shake of the head. “I can’t imagine a worse spirit to be stuck with...”

“God forbid!” Ren scoffed. He leaned forward. “Anyways, remember: we’re dealing with a serial killer. We have to tread lightly. Let’s be cautious tomorrow and mentally prepare ourselves for his confrontation.”

* * *

The next day’s panel with Akechi went smoothly, for the most part. It had opened with a somewhat backhanded question from Makoto, the interviewer.

“How are you doing since your bout of appendicitis, Akechi?” she asked pointedly. “I’m surprised you were up to the task today.”

Akechi just shrugged. “I appreciate the concern, but I’m recovering just fine. Believe me when I say I’ve been swamped with flowers and get well cards; everyone has been so kind.” He smiled brightly. “My doctor actually advised against my being here, but after hearing how I won by a landslide as the preferred guest, I couldn’t let you all down.”

A chorus of aww’s and applause came, followed by a girl yelling “WE LOVE YOU AKECHI!”

The rest was mostly benign Q&A about his career, interspersed with questions about the Phantom Thieves Makoto tried to deflect. 

“Akechi-kun probably shouldn’t be answering questions about the case at hand,” she said firmly, “so please, don’t put him in that position.”

“Now, now, Niijima-san,” Akechi teased with a knowing smirk, “I’ll be the judge of that. True, I can’t talk too much about the specific details, but I may be able to answer a few benign questions.”

After that, practically all questions were about the Phantom Thieves. The onlooking thieves were physically pained by the questioning. Akechi seemed to bask in the limelight, driven by their discomfort. 

“Do you think the Phantom Thieves made you sick?” a student asked, resulting in a bark of laughter from Akechi.

“What, the Phantom Thieves... giving me appendicitis?” The boy chuckled. “That’s a new one. I didn’t know they could weaponize bacteria; maybe they’ve grown tired of hearts and just decided to go for the appendix, because why not?” The crowd laughed, and he shook his head. “But no, I very much doubt the Phantom Thieves had anything to do with my illness. That was just a stroke of bad luck.”

He picked on another hand from the audience. “Do you think the Phantom Thieves are innocent?” the student asked eagerly. Murmurs arose, and the crowd’s attention seemed unusually intense. Akechi seemed unfettered by it and shrugged.

“It might surprise you all to hear this, but I actually believe the Thieves’ claim of innocence.” At the gasps and murmurs, he held a hand up. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not condoning their actions, but I don’t believe they’re responsible for Okumura’s murder. The motive simply doesn’t make any sense— why him, and not any of their other targets? Furthermore, the mental shutdown incidents started over two years ago. None of the mental shutdown victims received calling cards. If the Thieves wanted to kill and leave no trace of their involvement, they simply could have continued their spree with no calling cards and never been caught. So why would they bother bringing themselves to public attention by changing hearts?” 

As agreeing murmurs arose, he nodded and stood up straight. “For those reasons, I believe their claim of innocence is sincere. However, this means that they’re in terrible danger; whoever the killer is wants them framed for their crimes. They could very well be targets of mental shutdown themselves.” He sighed forlornly and clutched the podium. “I believe, given the first incident occurred at this school, that they are a group of juveniles. A group of juveniles that are finally realizing how horribly out of their depth they are and what grave danger they are in.” 

More whispers carried in the air. Ryuji’s fists clenched and Ann grit her teeth. Yusuke exhaled through clenched teeth while Ren squeezed his arms crossed even tighter. Makoto maintained her composure and nodded. “That’s an interesting take, Akechi-kun. So, let’s suppose you’re right— what would you recommend the Thieves do now?”

Akechi cleared his throat. “I think they need to come forward to the police. We can protect them, and if they can bring us information and evidence needed to catch the real killer, I’d say a pardon for anything they did could very well be in order in exchange for an end to their activities. Everyone makes mistakes, especially when young; perhaps they can turn this mistake into something worthwhile if they can help us catch the killer.” He stared seriously at the audience. “So, if you are out there and listening... do the right thing. Come forward, and we can help you save your lives as well as your futures.”

Makoto forced a smile. “Thank you for your... candid answer, Akechi-kun, but wouldn’t you say it’s a possibility that there’s a reason the Thieves haven’t already come forward? Say, a concern that doing so might lead to more attempts at framing them?”

Akechi pursed his lips. “Well, someone’s been thinking about it. I had no idea you were a fan, Niijima-san?”

At the gasps and giggles, Makoto reddened. “I didn’t say that, Akechi-san. I’m merely pointing out a possibility.”

“If you say so.” Akechi shrugged. “I suppose that’s a possibility; this is a hole they dug themselves into unwittingly. I understand they’re scared, but with me at the head of the investigation, I’ll do what it takes to protect them.” He looked up at a clock on the wall and shook his head. “I’m sorry, but we’re running overtime, and I need to get back to work.”

“Ah, my apologies. Thank you for making time for us today.” She turned to the crowd. “Please give Akechi-kun a round of applause!”

Applause, combined with a chorus of cheers and whistles came as Akechi stood back and bowed to the crowd. As the boy stepped away from the podium, he walked behind Makoto, stopped, and looked over his shoulder.

“Is there a private room I could use?” he asked. Makoto frowned.

“I believe the PE faculty office would do...”

“Good.” He smiled. “I want you to gather your friends and meet me there. Now.”

* * *

“What do you want to talk about?”

The question was snapped out sternly by Makoto as the group stared at an irritatingly calm Akechi. He just smiled again, and in lieu of words, he tossed several pictures on an open desk.

Pictures of the Thieves fading into the Metaverse.

A chorus of feigned gasps came, coupled with looks of shock. Some were better than others at faking shock and horror; Ann threw her hands on her cheeks and gasped dramatically.

“No...!” she cried. “How can that be?!”

“They gotta be shopped!” Ryuji added, his voice squeaking a bit. Ren resisted the urge to face palm as he sighed and held out his hands.

“Fine. You got us. What do you intend to do?”

Akechi gave him and his team a stare of suspicion for a few moments before continuing. “If you want me to be blunt, I’ll be blunt. I know you’re acting as Phantom Thieves in the Metaverse. You traverse there, and your appearance changes due to your mysterious powers.” He held up his phone, displaying the icon of the Nav. “I found out about that world about a month ago. This had been installed onto my phone without my knowledge.”

Yet more feigned surprise. This time they settled for wide-eyed surprise. Ann put the back of her hand to her forehead, looking as though she was going to feign fainting. Her eyes caught Ren’s, and with his stern look, she lowered her hand. 

Futaba gasped and snapped the phone out of his hand, drawing a startled gasp from the boy as she grinned. “Ooh! You got the phone I wanted! You’re so lucky...”

The tension lessened a bit as Akechi stared, dumbfounded, while the others just sighed.

“Futaba, I know you get excited about tech, but is now really the time?” Ryuji groaned. Akechi cleared his throat.

“Is this, er... standard behavior for her?”

Nods came. Futaba sighed as she passed the phone back to a still-bewildered Akechi. “You have nice taste in phones. More than I expected.”

“Uh... thanks.” Akechi held up the phone with his right hand and pointed to the Nav icon. “So, I have the Metaverse Navigator.”

“We get it. You can access the Metaverse.” Morgana huffed. Akechi flinched and turned to the cat on the table, his eyes widening.

“This cat... I swear it just talked!”

Morgana jumped up and onto a box, utilizing it as a pedestal. “Surprised?” he teased, his tail swishing. “My name is Morgana. I’m the one who taught them about the Metaverse.”

Akechi flinched again and shook his head. “Really? This is unbelievable... but it is true you know things I don’t. Did you also instruct them as to how you change hearts?”

The cat bobbed his head. “We infiltrate the hearts of those with distorted desires— we call these manifestations Palaces— and remove the core, which causes Palace collapse and subsequent loss of abnormal desire.”

“Meaning a change of heart.” Akechi mused, putting a hand to his chin. “Well, no one would guess that MO.”

“Ahem.” Ren cut in. Akechi smiled at him.

“Apologies, but you can’t fault me for being curious, now, can you?”

“Akechi, we’d like you to be straightforward with us, please.” Makoto said sternly, her eyes narrowed. “What do you intend to do?”

“We didn’t kill anyone!” Haru protested indignantly. Akechi nodded.

“I know this. I was actually pulled into that world when you were going to change Okumura’s heart. I ran into the killer while I was there.” He grimaced. “The man in the black mask... I didn’t get a good look at his face, and didn’t get much of a chance. He shot at me as soon as I saw him. ‘I can’t die like this... I need to uncover the truth.’” He nodded. “That’s when I fortuitously Awakened to that power.”

“So you know that we’re telling the truth about being set up.” Makoto remarked bluntly. Akechi nodded curtly.

“Precisely. However, at this rate, the police have decided they intend to ignore the claim and pin the murders on all of you, which is no doubt exactly what the killer wants.”

“Then what do you propose?” Yusuke demanded. Akechi put a hand on his chin.

“I come with an offer. I’d like you to help me change the heart of the woman in charge of the investigation... Sae Niijima. She’s lost her way and may end up fabricating evidence to frame you further. I can’t have her behaving so immorally if we want to find the true culprit.” He looked over the group. “In exchange, I’ll overlook what you all did... in return for your testimonies and a promise to disband the Phantom Thieves.”

Ryuji grit his teeth. “What?! This is blackmail!”

“Call it what you will. I stand by my demands.”

Silence fell as Ren grit his teeth and clenched his fists. Akechi just met his gaze with infuriating calmness as the boy sighed deeply and unclenched his fists.

“Much as I hate to admit it, you have us cornered. Fine. Just help us get out of this mess.”

Groans and grumbles but no further objections followed. Akechi grinned. “That’s a wise decision. Let us meet in Leblanc tomorrow evening so we can discuss our next moves. I think you’ll come to see this is all for the best.” 

With that, the detective headed out. As the door closed behind him, shoulders loosened and exhausted breaths came. Ryuji clenched a fist.

“I hate that guy.” 

“Me too, Ryuji.” Ren agreed dryly, tucking his hands in his pockets. “Me too.”

“Was his mom here?” Ann questioned. Ren nodded.

“Yeah, but she didn’t say anything. She just stood there giving him a disappointed look. I suppose there’s not much she could say, really.” He looked over the group. “Just to be clear, everyone remembers our cover story if he gets too close to our secret?”

More nods. Makoto clasped her hands together. “Then let’s adjourn for today. Remember to keep acting normally around him, stick to the plan, and we’ll be fine.” She cast Ren a worried look. “... Just fine...”


	37. The Casino

Akechi felt frigid, for some reason. 

The cafe was normally quite warm, occasionally more than comfortably so. Yet right now, it felt as if the air was freezing— he couldn’t help but shiver.

“Sorry about that,” Ren apologized from where he stood by a booth, his arms crossed, “the air conditioner is on the fritz. Sakura-san didn’t have time to fix it before he left us the cafe.”

It wasn’t just that. Akechi felt a strange terror clawing at his gut, as if he was being hunted. He felt deeply unwelcome and unsettled; the others looked uncomfortable, too, but didn’t seem as bothered by it as he did. The evening light that cast scant illumination across the room through the doors and windows did little to warm the place.

Nevertheless, Akechi stood, clasping his hands together as he smiled. “Thank you all for being willing to meet on such short notice— and please, give my regards to Sakura-san for graciously allowing us to use the cafe.”

Quiet nods. Akechi nodded back. “Alright. Our first order of business is beginning our navigation into Sae-san’s Palace—”

“Already figured the key words.” Futaba cut in bluntly. Akechi blinked and cleared his throat.

“Oh. Well, then, that makes our job easier. If it’s possible, I’d like to begin our expedition today, though we have until the 19th of November.”

“Why’s that?” Ann questioned. Akechi sighed.

“They’re planning an investigation of the Sakura household on that date. They have quite a lot of red tape to deal with before they can act, so I’m certain that will be the day.”

Morgana nodded from where he sat on a stool. “So that means we need our route secured by the 17th at the latest, and we’ll send the calling card on the 18th. I wouldn’t be concerned; it usually takes us only a few days’ time to complete a Palace. We should be done with time to spare.”

“Good.” Akechi cleared his throat and put a hand on his chin. “There’s one other thing I’m wondering— well, two other things, really.”

“And that is?” Ren pressed. Goro looked at him.

“How in the world did you know about those Mementos targets that no living knew about?” Genkei snorted, but he couldn’t hear it. “Secondly, how did you know that an assassin was going to target Okumura?”

“The first was due to me,” Makoto said, raising a hand, “I found a page of his old notebook under a shelf of his I was moving. That was a stroke of luck.”

“Second was me,” Futaba said proudly, waving, “I thought the fact Okumura was topping the poll on the Phansite was suspicious. I checked and sure enough, found signs of external hacking. The code matched the fake Medjed.” 

Akechi blinked and crossed his arms. “... I see. So what made you conclude that he was going to be targeted for murder?”

“Why else would he have been propelled to the top?” Futaba scoffed. “We figured the mental shutdowns were also being caused somehow in the Metaverse. Baiting us and then committing murder would be a great way to pin the crimes on us.”

Ryuji nodded. “And after the principal died, we heard that he was sent a calling card... except we didn’t send it. That meant someone was tryin’ to set us up.”

“We figured we had to make a move anyways.” Haru agreed. She sighed and clasped her hands together as she looked down at her lap. “It was just as likely that if we didn’t that whoever was behind it would simply send another fake calling card and pin the crime on us all the same. Our best chance was trying to stop the assassin, but...” 

She began to shake. Ann put an arm around her and quietly began to try to comfort her as Ren grimaced and scratched the back of his neck. “... So, yeah. That’s what happened.”

“Hmm.” Akechi sighed and frowned. “I see.”

“You sound disappointed.”

The detective laughed and shook his head. “A little, admittedly, the revelation of the Metaverse’s existence has made me realize supernatural things exist in this world. I was hoping for something more... fantastic, I suppose.”

Ryuji scowled. “Sorry to disappoint you, but... we’re just normal kids, aside from bein’ Phantom Thieves.”

“Apparently. What a pity.” He looked over the group. “Well, should we be off?”

“Let’s start our mission tomorrow,” Makoto said as she looked at Haru pityingly, “I think we need a break.”

Akechi pursed his lips and sighed. “Very well. I understand. Let us meet again tomorrow outside the courthouse, same time as today. I’ll be waiting.”

He left, with Ayumu trailing behind him after a quick, muttered apology. The door jingled on his way out, and after a few moments, the tension in the air broke a bit. The chill was reduced, and the fear that sat in all of their hearts diminished. Haru breathed deeply and picked her head up, her eyes dark.

“Thank goodness... I think they’ve calmed down. Is Father okay?”

“I’m okay,” Okumura said, stepping through the counter as he approached his daughter with a worried look, “I’m sorry you have to deal with this, Haru, everyone.”

“I hate that kid.” Genkei snarled as he stared out the door. Wakaba shook her head.

“I sort of pity him. It’s hard to imagine being lost in such a fog.”

“No, fuck him.” Genkei snapped bitterly, turning to the others. “I have no pity for him; he’s old enough to know better. He’s old enough to know that murder is wrong.” He looked around. “Where’s Kobayakawa?”

“Not here,” Okumura scoffed, “I told him what was happening and he thought about it but ended up staying on duty. He was scared that Akechi would somehow see him and hurt him again. Because apparently you can kill a ghost.”

Ren snorted and told everyone what they said. Makoto scoffed and rolled her eyes. “That sounds about right for Kobayakawa.A coward, even in death.”

“I agree with Makoto’s dad,” Ryuji snapped, “fuck that guy.”

Futaba shivered and wiped an eye. “... How’s Mom feeling?”

Wakaba smiled weakly at her daughter. “I’m fine, love-bug.” She approached and reached down to kiss her forehead. Futaba shivered at the contact and rubbed at her forehead. 

“Oof, cold, but thanks. Glad you’re okay.” Futaba held up her phone. “Anyways, I already got something from that bug I placed on his phone. Have a listen.”

She put it down on the tabletop after pushing the screen, and Akechi’s recorded voice came.

_ “... Then, I’ll guide the police into her Palace, and have them catch the Phantom Thieves in the act.” _

The recording sounded much colder and callous in tone than Akechi’s normal voice. It put everyone on edge instinctively.

_ “That would be the only way to arrest them, given their methods. I’ll deal with them after that. Let me see... we could say he stole the guard’s gun and committed suicide during his imprisonment... How about that? Public security questioning will occur on the first day... and with that room, my task will be simple.” _

The entire group blanched. Ryuji gaped. “Is this for real...?”

_ “... Yes, the guard will have to be one of ours. We’ll have to eliminate him after to destroy the evidence, though. Well then... I will make the arrangements the day after the arrest. We can easily frame his suicide as proof that they were behind the murders; why else would he refuse to talk?” _

The air grew cold again. Wakaba was seething.

_ “And thus, the dangerous criminal responsible for the mass shutdowns will end his own life. When he does, you will become a great hero who saved Japan from evil. As will I, of course.” _

That was the end of it. Everyone gaped at the phone, save for Ren, who just grit his teeth. 

“What the _hell.”_ Morgana whispered. Genkei groaned and raised a hand to his head.

“Looks like Ayumu wasn’t lying to us. That rat bastard is going to kill you!”

“We’ll stick to the plan.” Ren said sternly. The others gave him incredulous looks.

“Aren’t you scared?” Ann whined. “This stuff is scary...”

“Of course I’m scared,” Ren snapped, a little harsher than intended, “but this is our only way out. This is YOUR only way out. One of us has to do this, and it has to be me. No one else.”

“But—” Haru began to protest, but Ren shook his head.

“They want the leader. They want me. And as the leader, I have a responsibility to stand up to the task. I won’t hear any arguments!”

Sniffles escaped some of them. All stared at him with a mix of horror and despair, and finally, Ren sighed and stood up, his hands on the table.

“I won’t die— I’ve decided I won’t die. And that’s that.”

“I don’t like this.” Wakaba murmured. Ren sighed and shook his head.

“I know you don’t. I’m sorry, but... this is what has to happen.”

Wakaba turned away, shaking. Okumura didn’t say anything, but a look of intense shame overcame him. Genkei sighed deeply and stepped forward.

“I’ll be with him,” he declared, “I’ll be with him the whole time. I know what it’ll take to steer my daughter to the right decision. I think he knows, too, but I’ll coach him the whole time as needed, no matter what.”

“You better!” Wakaba snapped, turning to scowl at him. “This relies on your daughter! Make sure Ren says what he needs to when he needs to!”

Genkei pumped a fist to his chest. As Ren told the others of the conversation, Makoto took a deep breath and nodded.

“... I believe in him, and in you.” she whispered. “My father isn’t just talk. But please... be careful.”

Ren paused for a moment. He finally sat down and smiled weakly. “I’ll do my best.”

It took a great deal of willpower to keep his voice from cracking.

* * *

While the area around the Palace was utterly unremarkable, the Palace itself, as was the norm, was grand. Flashy casino lights echoed in his mind as they approached and entered the Palace proper after dubbing Akechi ‘Crow.’

He appeared with a white outfit that reminded Joker of something like that of a nutcracker. It almost sickened him to think of how he was trying to fool them with such a display.

The thief almost forgot about it, though, once they saw Sae’s Shadow. She was tattooed and wore a slim black dress and a hat that reminded him of that of a witch. Thick eyeliner surrounded her eyes. 

Queen stiffened, but he clasped her hand, and she managed a small, grateful smile at him as they approached the Shadow on the ground floor after calling for them to come down.

“Welcome, you petty thieves.” She looked as though she was about to launch into a speech when she paused at the sight of Joker and Queen clasping hands. The Shadow blinked.

“Hmm? Aren’t you that gay friend of Makoto’s?” She barked out a laugh. “Are you so frightened by me that you must have my sister hold your hand even here? Are you sure you’re up for the task of challenging me in my own casino?“

Both thieves went beet red while muffled snickering escaped the others, save for Crow, who just gave them a genuinely baffled look. Joker just glared at him.

“We’ll explain later.” 

* * *

After a short confrontation that resulted in the Shadow escaping to the upper floors, the group decided to call it a day after a short meeting in the closest safe room. The room, while gaudy, served as a relief from the flashing lights of slot machines and just as gaudy decorations against tacky red patterned carpets. 

“I had no idea you were gay, Joker,” Crow remarked with a smile, “I’m surprised I didn’t pick up on it. I have no issue with this... if it’s true...”

The others shared looks. Skull marched forward and put an elbow on Joker’s shoulder with a nervous smile. “Oh, yeah, big time.” he lied. “He’s my... boyfriend. One time Niijima-san saw him and Queen holding hands because he was nervous around cops, which is when she found out. We had to clarify the situation so she didn’t kill ‘im.”

Crow looked between the two, then between Queen and Joker. He shook his head. “You’ll have to try harder than that with me. You two aren’t in a relationship,” he turned to Queen, “but you two sure are. I’ve seen the way you’ve looked at each other.” They blanched, and he scoffed. “Let me guess— you two made that up so Niijima-san wouldn’t kill Joker for dating her sister.”

Awkward silence came. Queen whined and reddened.

“... Please don’t tell her.” she pleaded. Akechi smirked.

“So I’m right? Don’t worry, I won’t tell her... I don’t want him to die. Not yet.”

The group collectively chagrined. Joker sighed and rolled his eyes as Skull pulled away from him. He shrugged. “Fine. You got us. She caught us holding hands because I got nervous around some cops, so she blurted out that I’m gay to cover my ass. Noir then said I’m in a relationship with Skull. Good to know she bought the story.” He paused. “Also, I’m not gay. I’m bi.”

Crow covered his mouth and snorted. It didn’t take long for him to start laughing, hard. In contrast to his facade, his laughter sounded genuine. When he could finally calm down, he pulled his mask up to wipe at an eye. He grinned. “Hoo... oh, that’s brilliant. I wish I had been there to see that.” He waved a hand. “Again, having you die now is not my goal, so don’t worry, my lips are sealed. I’ll be sure to vouch for Joker and Skull’s intense love to Sae-san.” Both boys reddened and stammered, sending Crow into another peal of real laughter as he stood up. “Well, funny as that was, let’s move on. We should head home for today.”

* * *

The next few days were nothing but Palace exploration. 

Joker did his usual job while they all kept Akechi in the job. There were a few caveats along the way, but they made it through.

The second floor was a pain, but not overly difficult. The third floor was another story— the hall of darkness made them all walk, hand in hand in what was surely the shittiest conga line of all time. Queen was second in line and shook as she held Joker’s hand, while he was forced to utilize the Third Eye the entire time to safely navigate the team through the maze. 

The final hurdle was an arena, with only one thief able to be submitted. Joker readily volunteered for the task and won handily with his multitude of Personas and quick wit, in spite of the blatant cheating. “One-on-one” had ended up being nothing but a lie, but he succeeded all the same, a bit scratched up but intact.

He was grateful Wakaba wasn’t there to see it. He knew she would have had a conniption at the scene, and had to quietly ask the others not to mention it in the real world.

The whole time, Joker noticed that Crow very strongly favored his right arm, for any situation. His technique with that arm was a bit sloppy, which Crow dismissed as being due to being an amateur. 

At one point, a Valkyrie struck his left shoulder, hard. He screamed bloody murder and clutched at his shoulder, involuntary tears rising at the corners of his eyes. There was a (perhaps unnecessarily long) pause before Panther cast a healing spell on him from where he crouched in pain.

Finally, they made it to the bridge to the Treasure room. Shadow Sae had jacked up the coin cost, only for Crow to step up to the plate with the member card Oracle had ordered him to throw out earlier. They had their route secured with many days to spare.

Ren tried to act like nothing was wrong as they prepared for the day, but everyone could tell he was scared, no matter how much he refused to talk about it. The cafe felt more and more haunted with each passing day, and Wakaba more and more withdrawn while he and Genkei practiced what would be said during the interrogation. Genkei seemed nervous, too, but had faith in him. Okumura just looked immensely guilty the whole time and muttered little else other than repeated apologies and pleas to be careful. Kobayakawa was seen only rarely, but when they did meet, he tried halfheartedly to voice his support, but Ren could tell he had doubts over the mission’s chance of success.

Ayumu seemed almost frighteningly calm. If anything, she just seemed exhausted as ever. Nothing fazed her. She would merely offer updates— thankfully, Akechi neither suspected anything, nor did he spill the beans of Ren and Makoto’s relationship to Sae-san.

Finally, the fated day came after Makoto delivered the calling card. Everyone twitched and shared anxious looks, some of them teary eyed. The room felt cold, and Ren could hear Wakaba weeping quietly. It hurt and made him want to cry himself, but with a forced, shaky smile, Ren stood up from the table in the attic they used for meeting and nodded.

“It’s showtime!”


	38. Interrogation

He awoke to body-wide pain and stinging, ice cold water that chilled him to the bone.

Ren picked his head up slowly, water dripping from his thick hair into his eyes as he saw the blurry figures of two officers, one of which was holding a bucket. The room was dark, save for a bright light on him that almost blinded him. He didn’t know or care where it was coming from; his only coherent thought was it hurt. Everything hurt; he was cold and tired and exhausted, and couldn’t remember how he had even gotten there. He could hear Genkei to his left cursing up a storm, but it barely registered over the ringing in his ears.

For a moment, he tried in vain to remember what had happened and where he was. Flashes of foggy memory crossed his mind.

A fight on a giant roulette table, Queen screaming at the sight of her sister’s Shadow’s true form. Running through a casino and throwing himself through a glass window, only to land into a crowd of armed officers.

_ You were sold out. _

He couldn’t remember rightly who said that to him, but he remembered it. Everything was too foggy; he could only remember the pain that followed. Beaten when he wouldn’t talk. Needles being shoved in his arm roughly, unnamed fists and boots, blood, Genkei screaming, darkness. 

“No dozing off.”

Ren gave the officer a confused look, who scoffed. “Guess the drugs were too strong.”

“Huh...?”

He coughed and gasped as the man threw a boot into his abdomen, hard. Bile came out of his mouth and onto the floor as he coughed and hacked violently following a sob and wheezes.

Why was he here? What had he done? Ren could barely remember. Genkei’s screams got louder, even angrier. 

He wished he would stop screaming. His ears were ringing. 

As the boot was pulled away, the pain remained. His ribs burned and it hurt to breathe. The boot returned, this time against the side of his face. It pushed down hard, smushing his face against the ground.

Why? What had he done that merited this?

The man said something cruel and mocking to him, by the tone. Something about his crimes. When he didn’t respond, the man grasped him by the hair, yanked hard, and picked his head up to stare him in the eyes.

“We’re going to make you understand you have to take full responsibilities for your actions.”

That was the first full coherent sentence he could understand. His mind was in such a fog that he just blinked at him with a dull look in his eyes. That seemed to make him mad, and he tossed his head to the ground. The resounding headache made him almost catatonic.

They undid his cuffs and shoved a clipboard in his hands along with a pen. It took great effort for him not to drop it.

“Sign it. It’s a confession under your name.”

The urge to bat it away came, but Genkei’s voice came.

“Don’t refuse; they can and will beat you even more, and I’m worried they could kill you if they go much further. Sign, but do it as sloppily as possible to make it clear it was under duress.” A sob came. “Please. I can’t watch you get tortured anymore.”

The officer raised a hand. “What’s taking you so long?! I—”

Ren took the clipboard and signed it barely legibly. The drugs made it effortless to write as poorly as possible.

The officer grumbled but took the board. He and the other officer left, leaving him on the floor, wheezing quietly. His breaths rattled in his chest.

“Ren, can you hear me?” Genkei pleaded, kneeling down at his side. His face was covered in whatever the closest equivalent to tears were in a ghost. Ren coughed and shuddered.

“It hurts.” he whispered. Genkei grit his teeth and shook.

“I know it hurts. I’m so sorry; we should have never done this. Even I underestimated what these monsters would do to you.” 

Ren blinked slowly before focusing on him. “... What... happened, before now?” he slurred. Genkei shook his head.

“No. Don’t remember. No one, especially not a child, should suffer through what you have.” He scowled. “Whatever they gave you is making you delirious. God, if I wasn’t here to give you instructions...” He sighed. “Never mind that for now. Can you sit up?”

“Do I have to?” Ren winced. “It hurts...”

Genkei sighed guiltily. His frown was pained. “I know it hurts, Ren, I know. Sae should be in here any minute now; you need to sit up and face her. This is horrible and painful, but she’s your only chance of surviving this. So, please...” His voice cracked. “Please sit up. I’ll be with you.”

Ren didn’t respond for a moment. Finally, he moaned and slowly began to raise himself into an upright position. He slipped and stumbled a few times, but eventually, shaking like a newborn fawn, he was sitting up. Genkei smiled weakly and nodded eagerly. “That’s it! Come on; just a little more.”

A groan escaped him as he laboriously pulled himself ontohis feet and stumbled toward the knocked-over chair. He pulled it upright and lowered himself into it. He was panting and wheezing as if he had just run a marathon as he finally collapsed into the seat. A cold chill stroked his head.

“Thattaboy. You’re doing great. I’m proud of you. Just hang in there...” 

* * *

He wasn’t sure how long it was after that when Sae arrived. The door closed behind her quietly while Genkei stood to stare at her as she approached the chair opposite Ren. Her heels clicked against the floor as she walked. 

She sat, set down a thick binder on the table, and crossed her arms as she took him in. The woman grimaced. “You’re Makoto’s friend... I didn’t expect it’d be you.”

“Mm.” Ren looked up and blinked blearily. “Is she okay?”

“She’s fine, no thanks to you.” Her eyes narrowed. “I bet you just befriended her to spy on me, didn’t you?”

“Nah,” Ren dismissed, “tha’ was genuine. We met in the school library.”

“Hmph. Don’t think I believe that after I saw you with Okumura’s daughter after her father’s death.” She sighed and winced as she looked back at the needles. “Those bastards... while I can’t say I’m fond of you right now, no one deserved what you just went through.”

“... Was anyone else caught?”

“Just you.”

Ren let out a deep sigh of relief and leaned his head into his hand. Sae leaned forward and clasped her hands together. “Can you hear me? It seems you’ve been through a lot. Almost anything can happen here... and I can’t stop them.” She sat upright and crossed her arms. “That’s why I need you to answer me honestly. I don’t have much time, either...” She narrowed her eyes. “What was your objective? Why did you cause such a major incident? I didn’t think it was a prank from the get-go, but I couldn’t assemble a case for prosecution. It’s because I couldn’t figure out a method behind it.”

Ren scoffed quietly and leaned against the table, propping himself up by his arms. “Of course you couldn’t...”

Sae chuckled. “True. No one would believe in an alternate world; I read the arrest report and heard you were found in a strange phenomenon. I need to know the specifics of what happened; this is my case, after all.”

Ren grunted. “Okay, but... the truth is stranger than fiction.”

“I know that.” Sae huffed. “When and where did you find out about that world? How is it even possible to steal another’s heart? Now... tell me your account of everything. Start from the very beginning.”

His head ached. He leaned his head into his hand as he propped an elbow up on the table; he felt his mind grow foggy.

_ You are held captive. A prisoner of fate to a future that has been sealed in advance. This is truly an unjust game... your chances of winning are almost none. _

He blinked his eyes open to see a blue butterfly no one else seemed to notice fly by his face. The world around him had gone pitch black, as if it did not exist. It spoke with a young girl’s voice, mourning his existence. For some reason, it reminded him of... he wracked his brain through the fog of drugs and remembered the twin wardens of the Velvet Room. The butterfly sounded oddly familiar.

_ Your chances of winning are almost none, but if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you. I beg you... please overcome this game... and save the world...  _

Ren watched as the butterfly circled back around him, little blue sparkles following it. 

_ The key to victory lies within the memories of your bonds—the truth that you and your friends grasped. It all began that day... when the game was started half a year ago. _

He watched it finally begin to fly up and away. 

_ For the sake of your world’s future... as well as your own... you must remember. _

* * *

Ren, with a little help from Genkei from time to time, soldiered on and told his story to Sae. From the start, she reacted with disbelief, but a note of curiosity spurred her to keep listening. He spoke in short, straightforward terms, mimicking Genkei when his memory grew fuzzy. 

He told the story without indulging the secret of his gift. That would come later, he and the team had decided. 

The boy was snapped awake as he finished telling her of Kaneshiro. She had slammed the tabletop and glared at him. “You mean Makoto was sticking her nose into this?!”

“I don’t name names.” Ren said coolly. Sae scowled as she sat back down and crossed her arms tightly.

“Bringing up my sister to upset me... it seems there is no end to the depths of your deception.”

“I’m not deceiving you.” he replied calmly, in a matter-of-fact way. 

“Tell her she asked,” Genkei said, “tell her sometimes you hear things you don’t want to hear when you ask.”

“You asked,” Ren said dully, “sometimes you hear things you don’t want to hear when you ask.”

Sae stiffened. Her nails dug into her sleeve. “That... that’s the sort of thing my father would say to me.” Her eyes narrowed. “Speaking of that— you still haven’t explained how you knew about the targets that said only my father would know.” Sae slammed a hand down on the table. “How? How did you know what my father knew?! Did Makoto—”

“Makoto didn’t know, and couldn’t have known,” Ren said bluntly, “did your father ever discuss these cases? With either of you?”

Sae shook her head. “No, not in great detail, not until—”

“A conviction was secured. And even then, he never named names because he didn’t want you to get involved, and Makoto was too young.”

Sae gasped sharply. She scowled and stood up, slamming her palms on the table. “How did you know that?! How do you keep learning all of these intimate details about my father?! From what you’ve told me, being a Phantom Thief alone couldn’t have told you that!”

Ren hesitated. He felt the truth on the top of his tongue, but Genkei shook his head.

“Not yet, but... this is fairly typical for Sae. She’s always been very intense and headstrong. Tell her to slow down, and that you’ll explain in time. Tell her to bear with you and have a little faith.”

“Sae-san, please slow down,” Ren urged, “I’ll explain in time. Please just bear with me and have a little faith.”

Sae blinked. She lowered herself into her seat, slowly. A mildly disturbed look was on her face as she took him in, and finally, she exhaled sharply and brushed a lock of hair back. “... Very well, but I’m holding you to that.” She put a hand on her chin and looked down in thought. “Why would Makoto... but she... and you... and Okumura-san...” Her eyes darkened as she looked up at him and lowered her hand back, crossing her arm again. “Never mind. Let’s move onto your next case.”

* * *

“Explain to me how you knew that Okumura was targeted.”

Ren knew this was coming. He had managed to evade questions with Futaba’s Palace by simply stating that their own hacker had come to them, no details about her mom necessary. 

“Remember the plan,” Genkei spoke up, “tell her that you got suspicious of the poll rankings propelling Okumura to the top and compares it to the code of Medjed.”

“We got suspicious of the poll rankings,” Ren said casually, “after all, why Okumura? There are many other notorious people in the world. Okumura had a bad reputation, yes, but many people do. So we had our most recent member check in in on the situation; she found the Phansite had been tampered with, and that the code’s style matched that of Medjed. We knew we were being baited.”

“But why draw the conclusion that he was going to be murdered and have the crime pinned on you?” Sae pressed, her eyes narrowed. “If you found it suspicious, why bother to even pursue it? Why not leave it be?”

“A few reasons.” Ren clasped his hands together on the table. “First of all, what would stop the enemy from simply sending a false calling card attributed to us and killing him anyways? Second of all, we had just met someone close to him who saved my cat. We owed them a favor. So we decided the best option would be totry to intercept whoever the killer was—”

“But _why_ did you think he was going to be killed?” Sae objected. “What convinced you that his life was at risk? Something clearly did— you wouldn’t have attached that warning to the calling card if you weren’t concerned that this was going to be a murder you were possibly powerless to prevent.”

“What else would the outcome have been if he was targeted?”

“Psychotic breakdown, for one. Mental shutdown isn’t the only bizarre phenomenon happening to people.” Sae huffed. “And secondly, whoever is behind the mental shutdowns— who you contend to be behind this— could have just as easily killed Okumura in the real world even if you changed his heart and stopped the killer— it’s possible they aren’t working alone. He still could have been killed and had the blame laid on you.” She shook her head. “You were completely convinced that the killer was going to kill him in that other world, and was going to blame you for it. But how did you know for sure that that’s how the mental shutdowns worked? How did you know that was the MO of the killer?”

Ren hesitated while Genkei winced. “Oof. That’s my Sae, always a sharp one.”

“Well?” Sae snapped, leaning forward with an intense look in her eye. “It’s clear to me that you know things you shouldn’t logically know without an informant. But who? Who is your informant?”

The boy went silent. She slammed a fist on the table. _“Hey!”_

“I haven’t named any accomplices,” Ren said coolly, looking at her out of the corner of his eyes, “what makes you think I’d do that now? Besides... it’s not someone who you can talk to.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“Exactly what it means at face value. You flat out can’t talk to them. I’m the only one capable.”

“Careful!” Genkei hissed, and Ren felt a sudden wave of regret as Sae glared at him bitterly. “The drugs are making you more talkative than you would normally be.”

“Answer me!” Sae demanded, slamming the table. Ren shook his head.

“... We only have so much time, you know.”

The woman grumbled and settled down. She crossed her arms. “... Fine. I’ll figure it out later.” she spat. “Continue your story.”

* * *

Ren felt even more exhausted, emotionally and physically, than he ever had in his life, save perhaps for the aftermath of Awakening by a small margin. At the end of his story leading up to the present, he felt as though he almost wasn’t there. The drug was wearing off and bringing his memory back in full, but the exhaustion was doing an excellent job of taking over for clouding his mind again.

Would it hurt so much to close his eyes, just for a moment? He hurt so much and was so tired... maybe for just a second or two...

**_ “WAKE UP!” _ **

He jolted violently as Genkei screamed in his ear. Sae jerked back at the sudden movement while Ren winced and clapped a hand over his ear. He side-eyed Genkei, who huffed.

“You were dozing off! You do that now, and you’ll die!”

“Amamiya?”

Ren looked up dazedly at Sae. His ear was still ringing as he nodded. “Sorry.”

“What was that about?”

“Beats me.” 

Sae gave him an exasperated look, but she finally sighed and shrugged. “... So, we’ve discussed this. You won’t sell out your teammates. You’ve told me Akechi wasn’t a teammate. I’ve told you what will happen if you don’t cooperate with me— a life sentence or the death penalty.”

“I won’t betray them.” Ren snapped. Sae scoffed.

“After they abandoned you?”

“Did they?”

Sae rolled her eyes. “Where did you get that naive sense of justice...?” She shook her head. “Anyways... there’s one last thing that’s bothering me. You said you were sold out— do you know who may have done it?”

“Not a teammate.”

“Not a team...” Sae’s eyes widened. “Wait. Are you talking about him...?!”

Ren nodded silently. 

“The phone,” Genkei urged, “tell her to show Akechi the phone!”

Ren’s eyes landed on his phone on the table, and Sae’s gaze followed his. “The phone? What about it? Are you going to unlock for me?”

“Show it to Akechi,” Ren croaked, “just... show it to him. That’s all you need to do.”

Sae frowned at him. “Why?”

... Why? He couldn’t remember the fine details, but he remembered it was important, a life or death matter. 

Someone knocked on the door impatiently. Time was up. Sae looked back from over her shoulder, to the phone, and him quizzically. “Just... show it to him?”

“Please.” Ren begged. “Just... please, trust me on this.”

The knocking came back. With one last hesitant pause, Sae nodded and picked up the phone as she stood up with her belongings. “... Very well. I’ll do as you ask, but I don’t see the point.”

Ren smiled weakly. “Thank you.”

With an odd look back at him, Sae departed the room. As the door creaked closed behind her, Genkei let out a breath.

“Great job,” he praised, trying to pat Ren’s shoulder. Ren shivered at the contact. “Stay put and be quiet. I’ll be back soon.”

* * *

As expected, Akechi didn’t seem to recognize the phone beyond it belonging to Amamiya. Sae wondered what the purpose was as a brief headache struck her and disappeared as fast as it had appeared.

The two parted ways, and Sae continued down the hallway, eventually stopping off to the side to stare curiously at the phone.

“What was all that about, showing him this phone...?”

A text message appeared on the screen beside an icon of a wickedly grinning, shark-toothed black cat head with no eyes with a name.

“‘The Phantom Thief Alibaba’? Who is this?” 

A heavily distorted voice came through just as she asked.

** “I am Alibaba, a member of the Phantom Thieves. I inquire as to your justice, Sae Niijima.” **

Sae’s eyes widened, and she looked up and around for possible onlookers. “How do they know I have this...?!”

** “... Goro Akechi is evil. He didn’t come to interrogate the captured Phantom Thief... He came to kill him.” **

Sae blanched as another recording began to play— Akechi’s voice.

_ “We could say he stole the guard’s gun and committed suicide during his imprisonment... how about that? Yes, the guard will be one of ours. We’ll have to eliminate him after to destroy the evidence, though...” _

Her head was spinning as a barely muffled gasp escaped her. 

**“Don’t trust the guard, either,”** the mechanical voice from earlier said as it came back, **“he’s an accomplice as well. Now, then... I’ll tell you detailed steps to take. You must save Ren Amamiya.”**

Sae gulped. “You want me to... save him?”

No response came from the phone, but as she picked her head up, she saw a blurry figure trying to materialize. It soon took shape as a person she once knew. Sae gasped sharply and pulled back, clutching her purse straps tightly as the apparition flickered in and out of sight. 

“D—D—Dad?”

The flickering apparition nodded. “... No... time.” the ghost stuttered. “Hard to... be... when your cognition... is distorted. Go... save Ren... _Please.”_

“But...”

“Ask... Makoto. She’ll explain...”

She gasped again as the spirit flickered out of sight. Sae reached out for him, and was left blinking at the open air. Tears burned under the corners of her eyes.

“Dad...” she whispered in quiet disbelief as she lowered her arm. She looked down at the phone in her hand, and with a breath, nodded to herself and returned to the hallway. 

The air seemed to reverberate oddly for a moment. It gave her a very brief but sharp headache that left her looking over the hall in confusion before cautiously proceeding.

* * *

As Genkei reappeared, he saw Ren had his eyes closed and his hands clasped together, his legs crossed as he waited to face his fate. He looked up at the ghost, who nodded.

“Phew; that was tough, but I did it!” He rolled a shoulder. “Anyways! I think it’s working. Just a little longer, son.”

Though the rest of the wait felt like an eternity, Akechi never showed up. Admittedly, Ren felt his heart pound out of his chest when the door opened, but when it did, all he saw was Sae, wide eyed, as she breathed with relief.

Ren himself felt dizzy with relief. Genkei watched silently as Sae carefully helped the boy up and onto his feet. When they reached her car, Ren carefully sat down on a back seat, head lolling. 

As Sae took off on the way to Leblanc, Genkei appeared beside Ren, whose eyes were closing. 

“Hey, are you awake? Stay conscious until we reach our destination.” she urged. “Just a little longer, okay? A little longer, and you’ll get to see your boyfriend again.”

Ren moaned softly but cracked his eyes open. His eyes fell on Genkei, who moved a hand through Ren’s hair. The boy shivered and opened his eyes a bit wider to give the man an exasperated stare, to which Genkei just smiled. 

“You made it, Ren. You made it.”


	39. Aftermath

Sae was expecting a drawn-out schlep to Sakura’s front door with a barely conscious Amamiya hanging with one arm around her shoulders. It was very late and she struggled to support Ren up and out of the car, into the cold air that nipped their cheeks and caused their breaths to be visible. The only noises he made were soft whimpers and quiet but pained moans, and barely seemed aware of what was going on.

She had just managed to close the car door behind her with a bump with her hip when she heard rapid footsteps approaching. Sae looked up to see Sojiro approaching her, a dawning look of horror on his face in the streetlights as he took him in.

Ren didn’t look up at him, but the boy flinched and winced. He sloppily raised his free arm up to the side of his face to cover an ear, for some reason.

“What in God’s name did they do to him?” Sojiro breathed in dismay. Sae scowled.

“You knew about—”

“We’ll explain everything later.” he snapped. “Right now, we need to get him to safety.” 

Reluctantly, Sae nodded quietly and began to transfer the boy to Sojiro, slinging his arm around his shoulder. Ren groaned in protest, to which Sojiro just sighed. “I know, kid, I know. Hang in there.” He grunted under his weight. “He’s gone dead-weight. How did you get him out of the car?”

“With a lot of determination.” Sae huffed. “Anyways, I’m sorry about this, but I need to leave him to you. I have to go handle some business to make sure his escape is undetected.”

Sojiro opened his mouth to say something but stopped short at the sound of clicking heels. Makoto appeared out of the darkness, staring at Ren with dismay and disbelief.

“Ren...”

Ren picked his head up to give Makoto a lopsided smile. “Hi.”

He delivered the line a bit more flirty than anyone would expect. Sae stared, unblinking, as Makoto scoffed and shook her head.  “That’s what you choose to say?!”

“Mhm...” 

She groaned and moved to his other side to support him and take some of the weight off of Sojiro. “Oh, Ren... you worry me sick...”

Her sister looked between the two teens, and particularly at the smile on Ren’s face. Her brows lifted, then furrowed. “... Sakamoto isn’t here, is he?” she said bluntly. Makoto smiled nervously. 

“Surprise?”

Her eyes narrowed. “So he’s not gay. You lied to me.”

“He’s bi, and yes, we did.” Makoto narrowed her eyes right back. “Sis, be honest, what would you have done if we told you the truth earlier?”

Sae pointed at her and opened her mouth to object, but nothing came out. She gaped at her for several moments before huffing quietly lowering her hand. “Damn it. Fine. We’ll talk about this later. There’s a lot we need to talk about, but I need to go handle some business, and he needs to get medical attention.”

“You go handle that,” Sojiro huffed, “we’ll handle him.”

“I’m going with Sae to make sure everything’s in order.” Genkei’s voice came. “For now... just let them help, Ren. Let them help.”

* * *

Futaba had been beside herself when she saw the state Ren was in, and Morgana had hissed and yowled in dismay. Sojiro volunteered his bed for the time being and helped Makoto clean his wounds off while the cat leaned against Ren’s head on the pillow and purred. Futaba remained on watch at the front door as they waited for Takemi to gather her belongings to come examine her patient.

Ren moaned and groaned in pain, sometimes even sniffling and softly weeping. Several times he peered up at Wakaba, who had screamed at the sight of him and stopped only at his pained wince.

She was crying. Crying and muttering that Shido and everyone who had hurt her son needed to be destroyed. That if she was alive, they’d be suffering dearly, tenfold for what they did to him. She sat at his bedside the whole time.

Ren remained too incoherent to respond properly. The kisses she peppered on his head felt cold, but helped distract a bit from the stinging pain of cleaned wounds. 

Everything hurt. Ren couldn’t remember ever being in pain like this; while Awakening had been by far the most painful experience of his life, it was also short. 

This was worse; this was way worse. The pain was excruciating, all over, and it hurt to breathe or even open his eyes. The smell of antiseptic burned in his nostrils like it did to his skin.

What made it worst of all was that, unlike Awakening, it didn’t stop.

He wanted it to stop. _God_ , he just wanted it to  stop. Makoto’s hand in his helped a little to soothe the emotional hell he was suffering though, but he still wept the whole time and barely even registered the drops rolling down his cheeks or the snot running from his nose. Someone— Makoto, he thought, maybe— just wiped his face and murmured something meant to be reassuring or sympathetic.

Takemi showed up eventually. Though confused and incoherent, Ren could remember the look of dismay on her face as she took him in. 

“What did you get yourself into, Guinea Pig?” she had whispered. Ren could only groan in response as she sighed and began her examination.

That hurt even worse. She poked and prodded him and took notes on every little thing. 

“No broken bones save for a cracked rib or two, plus a nasty concussion,” she huffed, “but he still has a lot of bone bruises. If I had my way, though, I’d have him x-rayed and sent in for a CT scan. Internal bleeding is possible, but I don’t see anything from my limited exam to suggest that, for now. The next time he goes to the bathroom, have him check for blood he might be passing. If he is, tell me immediately. The good news is his pupils still track well, and while he’s confused and out of it, he clearly still understands sentences and can respond. Blood pressure is... not ideal at the moment, but not life threatening. His reflexes are slower but still there. I’m honestly shocked he’s not in worse condition.” 

She began preparing a needle. The sight made Ren’s heart seize in his chest. He remembered the needles in the interrogation room, in his arms, his neck, even, the pain and confinement and loss of autonomy torture to him.

“I’m going to take some blood for—”

Ren began to struggle. A cry escaped him as he weakly began to try to escape the bed, only to be held back by Makoto and Sojiro. He let out a sob and shook helplessly; his breathing grew erratic. 

“No, please, no, no, no!” he begged hoarsely. Takemi lowered the needle and looked at him guiltily while Sojiro and Makoto just shared a pained look. Morgana nudged him and groaned.

“What did they do to you...?” he murmured in dismay. “Ren, this is for your own good. None of us are going to hurt you. You’re safe. Everything’s okay. Remember your Persona.”

Makoto squeezed his hand. She herself was tearing up. “Please... I know you’re scared, but Dr. Takemi isn’t going to hurt you like those people did. Breathe. Call on your inner self.”

Ren closed his eyes at her urging. In his mind’s eye, he saw Arsene, and felt an unusual, icy calmness take over his mind and heart.

He felt the needle plunge into his arm. It barely pinched, but it still rattled his heart and made him want to cry. 

“I got it,” Takemi’s voice came, “I’m all done. You’ll live, but you’re going to be in a lot of pain for some time. For now, just rest.”

“Heed her words.” Arsene beckoned. “Sleep, young thief. Sleep...”

* * *

Sojiro dragged an air mattress out of a closet for Makoto once it was clear she had made up her mind that she wasn’t going anywhere for the night. She settled alongside his bed and fell asleep, herself exhausted from the long, emotional affair.

Come morning, Ren woke up briefly to use the bathroom and reluctantly allowed Makoto to change his dressings out. He constantly winced and muffled groans of pain that made her feel awful, but eventually, he was clean. After a small bowl of okayu that he initially refused to touch but ate at Wakaba’s nagging, he was back in bed and fast asleep to escape the pain. 

Makoto was reading a book when Futaba came in, carrying a phone and wincing.

“His parents are upset. Sojiro told them he’s alive, but they want to hear him talk... but he’s asleep...”

Makoto sighed and gently began to rouse Ren. The boy moaned and slowly blinked his eyes open to give her a pleading look when he saw Futaba with the phone. He sighed.

“Mom and Dad, wondering if I’m not dead?”

“Mhm. Sojiro tried to tell them, but they’re throwing a fit and refusing to hang up until they hear your voice.” Futaba approached the bed. “What should we do?”

Ren just sighed and took the phone from her. He lifted it to his ear, wiping his face with his other hand.

“Hi.” 

That was all it took for the sound of loud, relieved sobs to hit him. 

_“You’re alive!”_ his mother cried ecstatically. _“Oh, thank God, you’re alive!”_

Ren pulled back a bit, wincing. “I— I am,” he croaked, “I don’t mean to offend, but can you... be a little quieter? I have a killer headache...”

_“Are you alright?”_ his father’s hushed voice came. Ren sighed and looked down at himself.

“... Well, I’m alive.” he said bluntly. “That’s what’s important.”

_“What’s that supposed to mean?!”_ his mother protested. _“Are you hurt?”_

“I’m. Alive.” Ren insisted. “I’m sorry to do this to you guys, but I can’t divulge too many details.”

_ “What? But...” _

“Have some faith in me.” he urged. “You owe me that. In fact, there’s a way you can help.”

_ “Name it.”  _

“Sakura-san told the school I’m at home for family reasons. If anyone asks, corroborate that story. And don’t talk to cops or anyone.” He sighed. “Listen, I know this sounds insane, but my life depends on it. For at least the next month, I need to play dead.”

There was a long pause. He could hear mutters in the background before his father’s voice came back. 

_“Very well,”_ he said, exhausted, _“but promise us you’ll live.”_

“I promise.” Ren cleared his throat. “There’s, uh... one other thing I need you both to do. Don’t vote for Shido.”

_“What?”_ His mother sounded baffled. _“Shido? That politician? He sounds so promising, though...”_

“It’s all a lie. He’s a monster who tried to have me killed.” They gasped sharply, but Ren kept going. “Don’t. Vote. For Shido. The man is a psychopath.”

_“HE’S the one who tried to have you killed? Are you changing his heart next?!”_ his father demanded anxiously.

“I cannot confirm or deny that I’m a phantom thief or that his heart will be changed.”

_ “Are you joking?! We know damn well that you are at this point! Our change of heart was too much of a coincidence as it is, and this just—” _

“Dad.”

Another long pause, then an exasperated sigh.

_“We won’t vote for Shido.”_ his mother finally promised. _“Should we do something? Put up posters or picket his campaign?”_

“No.” Ren snapped. “Lay low. Do NOT show any signs of knowing anything. Just don’t vote for him and play ignorant.”

His father sighed. _“Fine. Just... don’t do anything stupid... don’t get killed. Please.”_

* * *

Ren was asleep again when Sae dropped by. Futaba had come to fetch her and then retreated to her room. Sae was shaken and dark-eyed as she and her sister moved together in silence to find a place to sit.

The sisters sat on a couch in Sojiro’s living room, both shifting and twitching with discomfort. 

“You look exhausted,” Makoto remarked, “did you get any sleep?”

“I did, but only a few hours. I was very busy making sure no one would check for his body in the morgue and covering all bases.” Sae’s dark, tired eyes narrowed. “What about you? You look tired too. Taking care of your... boyfriend?”

Makoto sighed and nodded. “... Yes.”

Sae grimaced and crossed her arms. “I can’t say I’m happy about the fact you two are... in a relationship, but we have more important matters at hand.” She closed her eyes a took a deep breath that sounded somewhat strained. “Was that a spur of the moment plan?”

“Yes. You saw us together unexpectedly.“ Makoto shrugged. “It worked, didn’t it?”

Sae snorted and shook her head. A small smile was on her lips. “... Okay, it _is_ sort of funny, given the circumstances. That was quick thinking on your part.” The woman closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “We haven’t even gotten to what I want to talk about, and I feel a headache coming on.”

“I’m afraid it’s not going to get any better... or maybe it will. Depending on how well you take this next piece of news.” Makoto took a deep breath. She felt a breeze pat her hand, and she smiled weakly. “There’s... someone who approves of our relationship. Someone whose approval might make you feel better.” Makoto looked up at her with a hesitant look. “And... there’s something you should know about Ren. He’s... special.”

“He said something about having an informant only he could talk to.” Sae remarked. “Does this have to do with that?”

Makoto swallowed hard and nodded. “... Yes. I’m going be honest with you; this might be hard to take in. You might not even believe it at first, but it’s the truth. We’ve seen him prove himself time and time again, and what makes him special saved my life.”

“Why don’t you just tell me plainly?”

She and Makoto shared a look for a long moment. Finally, Makoto nodded slowly and spoke.

“... Sis... Ren can see ghosts.”

Sae gave a sharp gasp as Makoto crossed her arms. “I know, it sounds— ”

“Dad.” 

Makoto paused and gave her a wide-eyed look. “Huh?”

Sae tightened her grip on her arms and took a deep, shuddering breath as she closed her eyes. “Dad. When I was... at one point, I... saw a flickering apparition of him in the hallway. He told me to go save Ren and to ask you about this. Then he disappeared...”

Makoto smiled weakly. “We weren’t sure he was going to be able to do that.” She nodded. “That was him. We sent you into your own cognitive world for a few moments; ghosts are visible there, but it’s extremely difficult for them to materialize if the cognition of the Palace ruler is distorted. He must have been really determined to talk to you.” She nodded. “He was at Ren’s side and coached him during the interrogation to make sure he made it out alive. Ren said that Dad said he wanted to appear like he did, but we had doubts he could do it.”

“I...” Sae’s breath hitched. She looked away for a moment, took a deep breath, and turned back to Makoto. “I’m... honestly shocked, but... I believe it. He said too many things that sounded just like dad...” She laughed weakly and shook her head. “There were times that I thought to myself that it seemed more like I was talking to Dad than him. Is... he here?”

“I think so. I felt someone touch my wrist a moment ago. Let’s test that.” She looked up at the open air. “Dad, if you’re here, go ahead and pat Sis’ wrist, then her cheek.”

There was a pause. Sae helped and recoiled at the cold sensation. She put a hand on her cheek and shuddered.

“Dad...” Her eyes widened. “Wait. Was that you who kept knocking everything over in the bathroom?!”

Makoto laughed. “Yes. I needed him to distract you, so...”

Sae blinked. A small smile crawled onto her lips before erupting into laughter. She laughed with Makoto, and when she finally calmed down, she nodded. “Okay,” she said tiredly, “tell me everything.”

* * *

Ren woke up to a cold sensation repeatedly tap against his cheeks. He groaned and stiffened at the sensation of pain that came with the awakening, and squeezed his eyes even more tightly closed.

“Whozzat? Isshiki-san?”

“Guess again.”

“Niijima-san.”

“Bingo. Now open your eyes.”

Ren moaned and squeezed his eyes shut. He rubbed at his eyes. “Niijima-san, let me sleep...”

“Open your eyes. My daughters want to talk to you.”

“Your daughters...” Ren’s eyes opened to see the Niijima sisters at the side of his bed. Makoto was calm and holding her hands together, but Sae... Sae looked somewhat uncomfortable and avoided looking directly at Ren. The woman was scratching the back of her neck with a hand on her hip. She sighed wearily.

“Ren,” Genkei urged from his bedside, “ask her if she’s having a ‘Sae sigh.’”

Ren’s nose wrinkled. “What?“

“Don’t give me that face.” Genkei snapped, crossing his arms. “Just do it.”

“What did he say?” Makoto questioned. Ren coughed and reddened as he looked away from Sae.

“I am... sorry in advance for this. He told me to ask Sae-san if she’s... having a ‘Sae sigh.’”

There was a sharp intake of breath from Sae. Ren looked up to see the woman covering her gaping mouth and gawking as if he had grown a second head.

Without a word, Sae turned on her heel and left the room, still covering her mouth. Ren shrank back, but Makoto just patted his arm.

“It’s okay, Ren. She’s okay. She just needs to compose herself. Sis isn’t big on displays of emotion... and she’s feeling a lot of those right now.” She giggled and ran a hand through Ren’s hair. “Dad used to say that to her when she sighed or got huffy. Sis would roll her eyes every time. Anyways... just let her calm down.”

The door creaked open again, and back in came Sae, crossing her arms tightly. Her face was a little red. 

“I’m sorry,” she gasped, “I just... needed a moment.” She finally looked at Ren. Her eyes were not angry, or disgusted, or disbelieving. She looked at him with the same awe the others had when they had found out. “So... this is real.”

“Very.” Morgana trilled from Ren’s side. Genkei reached over and very lightly bopped him on the nose, earning a grouchy meow of protest as the cat swatted at his own nose. 

“She can’t understand you, Morgana-kun.” the man teased. Ren cleared his throat and nodded.

“Ah, yes. It is. I’d appreciate it if you could... you know. Not tell anyone.”

Sae scoffed. “I already know you’re the Phantom Thieves. What’s one more secret to keep?” She bowed briefly to him. “If you have the energy... I’d like to request your help as an intermediary for my father and I. We need to talk.”

Ren smiled weakly and very slowly nodded, once. “Okay. Who goes first?”

“If it’s not too much trouble, I would like to speak first.” Sae frowned. “Where is he?”

Ren pointed to where the ghost was standing. Sae followed his finger and bowed to the spirit.

“Dad... I... I am so sorry. For everything you had to see me do for the last few years. I know that was painful, and my behavior was inexcusable, even with grief.”

Genkei approached his daughter and gently tapped her shoulder. The woman shivered and stood up as Genkei moved to hug her best he could. All it did was cause her to feel cold around her torso, but tears stung Sae’s eyes all the same. 

“I’m sorry, too.” Genkei apologized as he pulled back. “My death put too much on you, more than any young person should have to deal with. You did a lot of bad things, but... in the end, everything turned out okay, and you did the right thing in the end. I’m proud of you.”

Ren translated. Sae yet again left the room for a minute to compose herself. The boy felt discomforted, which Makoto seemed to pick up on as she moved to sit at his bedside and squeezed his hand reassuringly. He smiled weakly at her, and she at him.

Sae came back in a few moments later. Her face was a bit red and puffy, not that she acknowledged it. “... Sorry.” she finally huffed. The woman scratched the side of her head. “I’m... glad to hear that. Now... I think we have a lot to talk about.”

The girls and their father talked for what felt like a very long time to Ren, who dutifully acted as a messenger. Sae had to keep excusing herself to soothe her rattled heart, but by the end, both she and her father were smiling and sniffling with emotion.

“Thank you, Amamiya-kun.” Sae praised, a hand on her hip. She chuckled. “What a remarkable young man you are. I’m... honestly struggling to wrap my mind around everything. You expanded my world dramatically within the span of a day and reunited me with my father. For that, I will never be able to thank you enough.”

Ren shrugged. “It’s what the others taught me I should do. I’m just happy I could help.”

Sae frowned. “Right. Makoto told me your whole story; I understand this was not easy for you, but for what it’s worth, I think you should feel honored. That gift you carry is useful, not just for family matters like this, but for so many things— bringing justice to those who thought they were going to get away, for one. Do you even realize how much help this could be in crime investigation?” She smiled. “After this is all over, I might call upon you for help in future cases that seem unsolvable. After all, what better witness is there than the victim who was supposed to be silenced?”

Ren hesitated, then nodded. “I... alright. So long as we, er, keep it quiet? I’ve gotten the whole ‘accept yourself’ thing from everyone, but it doesn’t mean I’m ready to show off.”

“Oh, God, no.” Sae shook her head. “Can you imagine? I’d be the laughingstock of the prosecutor’s office if anyone found out about you. Make no mistake— you have a gift, but keeping this a secret is the right away to go about it.”

“Agreed.” Ren sighed. Makoto stroked his hand, and Morgana purred. 

“You did great, Ren. Good job.” she reassured. Morgana cleared his throat.

“Not to ruin the mood, but you might want to make sure she’s not going to kill him.”

Makoto blinked. “What do you mean, kill him?”

“You’re holding hands.” Genkei deadpanned. Ren’s eyes flitted to their hands, and Makoto immediately reddened, earning a chuckle from Sae as the girl stood up. 

“Sis, listen—”

“How does Dad feel about your relationship?” She closed her eyes and took a breath. “Dad, if you approve of their relationship, tap my left wrist. If you don’t, my right.”

She felt something cold strike her left wrist. Sae’s grip on her sleeves as she crossed her arms tightened, but she nodded. “... I understand.” She looked at the two and swallowed hard. “Dad approves. If... he approves, then...” She sighed and sounded very reluctant. “You have my approval.”

Both teens beamed. “Sis! Thank you. That’s a relief.” Makoto looked lovingly at her boyfriend. “I understand you have a lot of misgivings, but Dad didn’t approve for frivolous reasons. Ren’s... a man of honor. A good man who respects me as an equal.”

“I know; I know if there were any serious problems, Dad would have said something.” Sae grimaced. “I can’t say I’m happy about you being with a boy with a... criminal record... but...” She sighed heavily. “... Never mind. Just... don’t do anything stupid.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Ren agreed. “Thank you.”

* * *

The others had gathered in Leblanc, and Ren was still staring at himself in the mirror of the bathroom in Sojiro’s house. He wore loose sweat pants and a hoodie without a shirt on underneath. One could see bandages even on his chest because of it.

The boy took in all the bandages and gauze layered over all the ugly bruises he had. It hurt just to stand and stare at himself in dismay, but he did it all the same.

Something in his gut wrenched at the thought of the others seeing his battered face. He thought about how they were going to see him hobble into the cafe shakily; it hurt too much to stand up straight and walk normally. Ren had tried several times in the bedroom and ended up almost in tears from the pain everything time. Wakaba’s tearful pleading for him to stop was enough to make him cave.

It was all a clear sign along of the trauma he was forced to endure for the team, for their mission, for his life.

He eyed a small basket with makeup that Futaba used and briefly, he thought of pulling the bandages off his face and trying to layer foundation over everything. Futaba would kill him later for using it all, but he’d buy her more...

After a moment, he dashed the idea and sighed heavily. It was too late for that, anyways; Makoto, Morgana, Sojiro, Sae, and Futaba has already all seen the state he was in when he got home. Any one of them was liable to throw a fit if he tried to cover it up.

Maybe he could try standing up straight again? Maybe if he walked slow enough, they wouldn’t notice how badly he was injured and wouldn’t make such a big deal out of it.

The boy straightened both his legs and his back. His muscles immediately rebelled and screamed at him in agony, causing him to involuntarily cry out in pain and hunch over again, shaking and panting as he clutched the edge of the sink tightly. 

“Ren?! Are you alright?!”

Ren looked up sheepishly to see Wakaba come through the closed door. The boy immediately tried to stand back up again as she looked upon him in dismay, but this time the pain hit him like a bus, and he found himself on his very-pained knees on the floor. His eyes fluttered open to see Wakaba standing over him, wide-eyed and horrified. 

“What in the world were you doing?! Stay there, Sojiro will be here soon—”

“I’m okay.” he croaked as he shakily and very slowly, agonizingly picked himself up. He stood, hunched over, and pulled the hood of the hoodie he was in over his head. “Just... pushed myself a bit more than I should have.” He panted. “I’m okay.”

“No, you’re not okay!” Wakaba griped, shaking her head. “Look at you! You’re a mess! Come on; you should go back to bed and rest. Tell Sojiro that—”

“No, I have to do this.” Ren protested sternly. “I’ve made up my mind.”

“But you can barely stand without—”

“That was just because I tried to stand up straight again.” 

There was a pause as the two stared at each other with barely-bridled emotion.

“Why?” Wakaba questioned in despair. “Why would you put yourself through that again? You know that you’re injured, and need to—”

“I know!” A sob escaped Ren, and the boy turned away in shame as he hugged himself. “I didn’t want any of them to see me this weak! I can’t hide the bandages or bruises; that’s bad enough as it is! They don’t deserve to see their leader this damaged!”

The boy continued to weep, turned away from Wakaba. The woman looked pained as she sighed and walked around him to face him. “Oh, Ren... Ren, you’re doing nothing wrong. You don’t need to hide from anyone, least of all your friends.”

“But...”

“They know you’re only human, and that’s okay. In fact, they should see you like this.”

Ren looked up quizzically at her. “Why?”

Wakaba brushed at a lock of his hair, causing it to sway slightly. “They need to see what this victory cost them. They need to understand what the stakes are. And above all, you need to trust them. That entire stunt was perhaps the world’s biggest trust exercise; why would you need to doubt them now?”

“It’s not about that...” Ren shook his head. “I trust them all. It’s about me. _I’m_ ashamed.”

“And why? Because you’re afraid you’ll look weak?” Ren was silent and looked down. She frowned. “Look at me, Ren.” He looked up. Her eyes were dead serious as she leaned in. “You are not weak. I can’t think of anything stronger than this; you have clearly suffered, and yet you still stand up and return to your team. You’re battered and bruised, but alive, and still want to support them by attending this meeting without hiding a thing. You are strong by merit of having the courage to do that. So are you going to try to hide it under a thin veneer or face this like the leader you are?”

Ren gaped at her for a few moments before closing his mouth into a small, tired smile. He sniffled and wiped at his eyes with a sleeve. “Okay.”

Wakaba smiled. “That’s my boy. So strong.” She grimaced. “Don’t use your sleeve, though! Use a tissue. Don’t get snot on that.” 

Ren snorted and reached for a tissue. After cleaning his face off, he and Wakaba shared a look, nodded, and finally, he opened the bathroom door. He looked down the hall and saw Sojiro leaning with his back against the wall. He reddened a bit as the man looked up his way with a tired smile.

“Hey. Wakaba give you a good talking-to?”

The boy sniffled and sighed. “Yeah. How did you know?”

“I have ears, you know.” He scoffed. “Granted, they’re not ears that can hear the dead like yours do, but I could hear you talking. Wakaba’s always been good at pep talks when she really meant it.” He chuckled and smiled. “Really shitty at it when she didn’t mean it, though.” He winced as he felt a cold breeze strike the back of his head. He reached up and ruefully rubbed his head. “It’s the truth and you damn well know it, Wakaba. Anyways... I’m glad she could talk sense into you.” He stood up and nodded. “Let’s get going. Your friends are all waiting for you. They’re worried sick, you know.”

Ren swallowed hard and nodded.

“... Let’s go.”


	40. Mission Start

“Look who’s here!”

Ren had barely stepped inside Leblanc following Sojiro’s announcement before getting bombarded by excited, relieved crying and hugs. He was surrounded and embraced.

“Ren-Ren, you big bastard!” Ryuji cried as he threw an arm around his shoulders and squeezed. Ren flinched and winced, prompting everyone to pull away and take him in. 

Ren realized exactly how vulnerable he must have looked as Yusuke, Ann, Haru, and Ryuji’s expressions all slowly warped from relieved, teary smiles to white-faced, abject horror and dismay. Futaba and Makoto both just shared cringing, pained frowns while Morgana tucked himself on the barstool closest to him.

In the back, Okumura eyed Ren with open dismay as he gaped, then cringed at the sight of him. Ayumu didn’t look remotely surprised, just exhausted and pitying, not unlike Sae. Genkei stood by his eldest daughter’s side and smiled weakly, nodding his head at Ren. Wakaba was behind Ren, but he could imagine the still-distraught look on her face she had been carrying since he had arrived home.

“What the _fuck_ did they do to you?” Ryuji gasped out loud, his eyes narrowing as he looked his friend over with a scowl. His fists clenched. “Makoto said it was bad, but _this_... this is effed up.” He grit his teeth; Ren hadn’t seen him that angry since they faced Kamoshida. His voice shook. “What’re their names?! I’ll make ‘em pay!”

“Ryuji, it’s oka—”

“No, it’s not okay!” Ryuji cried. “Look at yourself! Holy shit, you look like they tried to kill you!”

Ren flashed a small smile. “Guess you could say I’m a dead man walking.”

“Don’t say that!” Ryuji snapped. ”It ain’t funny when it comes to shit like this!” At Ren’s bewildered expression and raised hands in defense, Ryuji deflated and sighed. He gave him a gentle squeeze around the shoulders and smiled weakly. “I’m sorry. I’m... really glad you’re still here, dude.”

Yusuke crossed his arms and shook his head. Tears clung to the corners of his eyes. “I... I am so sorry. We failed you, Ren.”

Ren frowned at him. “What makes you think that?”

“We put you in this situation!” Yusuke snapped. “You could have died! You were heavily drugged and beaten to near-death!” 

“I knew we should have just sent you to another country while we dealt with Akechi,” Haru mourned guiltily, “I’m so sorry, Amamiya-kun!”

“I’m sorry, too.” her father piped up mournfully. “I’m so sorry...”

Ann just sniffled and sobbed and (carefully, gently) hugged Ren. The boy felt uncomfortable as he returned the hug and sighed, closing his eyes.

“I don’t regret it.” he said calmly. “For any of you... I’d do it again.”

Ann sniffled and pulled away, wiping at an eye. “Idiot... we need you, Ren.”

“Yeah,” Futaba piped up, “where would we be without our leader? Not just that, but you’re like a brother to me!” The girl pulled her glasses off and wiped at her eyes with her sleeve, sniffling. “I never want to lose someone close like I did again!”

Ren blinked as agreements came. He cleared his throat and smiled tiredly. “Thanks, guys. Let’s get to it.” He took a step forward and felt an sharp cramp in his thigh radiate up and down his leg and hip. Before he could restrain himself, he gave a sharp gasp of pain and doubled over. He quickly attempted to right himself, to calm the startled and worried cries and fussing of his team. An even sharper jolt of pain radiated through his legs and torso, causing him to gasp out and desperately fumble for the back of a barstool for dear life.

“Stop!” Yusuke snapped. “Stop, we’ll help.”

Ren groaned and reddened in dismay as Ryuji and Yusuke put their arms around his shoulders and began to carefully pull him toward a booth. “I’m fi—”

“Shut up.” Ryuji cut off bluntly. “Friggin’... idiot.”

Finally, they got him seated with little more than a small grunt of protest from Ren that was ignored. As the boy settled, he looked up and around at his team, at the ghosts. He frowned. “Where’s Kobayakawa? Not that I want him here, but I thought he wanted to come to this meeting.”

“He’ll be by later.” Okumura replied. An odd smile was on his face. “We’ve been hard at work, recruiting mental shutdown victims. There’s a new one he’s explaining the situation to we want you to meet later.” 

Ren told everyone what was said. No one save for a still-wide-eyed Sae just nodded. “Oh, Father,” Haru spoke up, “how did that go, recruiting people you had killed?”

Okumura cringed. “About as well as you’d imagine. Lots of screaming and cursing but ultimately, the desire for revenge on Shido was greater than their hatred of me. I’ve developed quite the spy ring for the Diet Building and Shido’s cronies.”

“You deserved it.” Genkei scoffed. Okumura just sighed heavily as Ren repeated what was said. Haru crossed her arms.

“I’m afraid I have to agree that this was deserved, but good work all the same.”

Ren turned to a still-shaken Sae and smiled tiredly. “You okay, Sae-san?”

The woman jumped a bit and nodded sheepishly at him. “Yes; sorry, I’m just...”

“It’s okay,” Sojiro said with a chuckle and a hand on his chin, “it’s weird at first, but you get used to it.”

Ren smiled and nodded. “Well, then... let’s move on. Let me explain the entire plan to you before we move on with our current plans...”

* * *

They explained the entire escape plan— they had baited Akechi and tricked him into shooting a fake. A risky but successful plan, even in spite of the state Ren was in. 

“I’ve had it explained to me several times, but I still barely understand it.” Sojiro scoffed, scratching his head. “Too much confusing supernatural bullshit going on, but I’m glad you survived.”

“I’m struggling to wrap my mind around it myself, even having witnessed it in the form of my father.” Sae added. She chuckled and brushed her hair back. “What a group of remarkable teenagers...” She cleared her throat. “So... you intend to handle Shido next. Is that the plan?”

Looks were shared. Ren sighed heavily. “Well... yes. That, and... using our spies, we got a list of Shido’s cronies. A big list. Our plan was— is— to target them all. We’d secure routes to the treasures of all Palaces and Mementos targets, prepare well, and spend a good 24 hours running from target to target to take all the hearts to make his empire collapse.”

“So what’s the problem?” 

“We’re having significant troubles identifying code words for their Palaces.” Makoto admitted. “For some reason— well, not surprising, I suppose— all of them have full-on Palaces, not Mementos targets. All of them.”

Yusuke grimaced and shook his head. “And to make matters worse, no matter how much we’ve investigated them, we can’t get a handle on the code for either their Palace location or their distortions. It’s bizarre; some of them we were certain we had figured out, but nothing works!” 

Ann shook her head. “After a long time of guessing, we managed to figure out the keywords for Shido’s Palace. His is the only one we’ve identified— ‘Diet Building’ and ‘Ship.’”

“So now we gotta figure out what we’re gonna do!” Ryuji groaned, leaning back. “It takes several days to get through ONE Palace as it is! There’s no way we’ll get through all the ones we were hoping to...”

“You might have to just settle for Shido,” Sojiro huffed, “I know it’s not ideal, but it’s better than nothing, and it’ll at least seriously cripple their plans for awhile if you knock him down.”

Okumura cleared his throat loudly. Ren’s gaze went up to the man, who had an odd smile on his face. The others quieted as Ren focused on the ghost. The man crossed his arms. “Thank you for your attention. Now... I believe we may have a solution to your problem. Akechi made yet another... _fatal_ mistake.” 

Ren raised an eyebrow. “And that is...?”

Okumura vanished for a moment and came back with a proud-looking Kobayakawa, alongside a ghost Ren vaguely recognized from their notes on intended targets. It was an old, gray-haired balding man with glasses, sharp eyes, and a permanent-looking scowl. 

“Meet Itachi Kinoshita,” Kobayakawa introduced proudly, “previously the SIU Director, and Akechi’s latest victim.”

Ren’s brows lifted. “Wha— he killed him? What? When? And you brought him _here?!”_

“Who is it?” Morgana questioned. Ren blinked.

“Itachi Kinoshita... also known as the... now former SIU Director. He was one of the targets on our list!”

Sae gasped sharply. “Are you sure? I just spoke to him on the phone yesterday!”

“Check your email. They’ll announce it soon.” Itachi grumbled bitterly. Almost on cue, Sae pulled her phone out of her pocket after it buzzed. Her brows lifted. 

“I just got a notification that he died suddenly... of unknown causes that are still under investigation!” She covered her mouth. “He’s... dead... and you see him...”

Genkei grinned smugly at the new, irritated-looking ghost. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t Shido’s bitch. How’d that work out for you?”

“Oh, shut up.” Itachi growled. He eyed Ren curiously. “So THIS is how you were always one step ahead... Kobayakawa explained everything to me.”

Ren glared at Kobayakawa, who shrank back under his gaze. “How much did he tell you?”

“Everything. Including your plans to take down Shido.” he deadpanned. Ren scowled.

“Kobayakawa!”

The ghost held his hands up defensively. “H—Hold on! He’s on our side!”

“Can we really trust him?” Ayumu snapped, finally breaking her silence. “This is one of the bastards who was helping manipulate my son!”

Ren turned to the others and explained. The room immediately tensed with an air of hostility. Sojiro’s eyes narrowed.

“Oh, I remember Kinoshita from my time in the government.” he snarled. “How’d that work out for you, jackass? You planning on kissing your boss’ ass even in death?”

“I’m here to help, idiots.” Itachi snapped bitterly. “That rat bastard betrayed me after years of loyal service... I want him to suffer. I want my revenge. And if that means working with the Phantom Thieves, then so be it.”

Ren translated for the others. The hostility barely abated as Ren and all of the ghosts eyed the ghost with suspicion. The living just shared nervous looks and scowls. Itachi scowled.

“What else do I have to lose? I’m dead. I lost. I know I’m probably doomed to Hell or whatever comes after. Fine. But I’m not going anywhere until I make that rat bastard pay for having me killed.” He crossed his arms. “The reason you’re having trouble finding the key words for all of the other Palaces is because Shido incorporated all of his allies into his own Palace.”

Ren blinked. “He did what now? Is that even possible? Isshiki-san, is that possible?”

Wakaba gave the man a wide-eyed stare. “I... don’t know. That goes beyond even what I was investigating. Shido must have been pouring a lot of resources into cognitive psience research.”

“Indeed,” Itachi huffed, “his intention was to ensure no more of his financial backers or anyone he deemed useful... apparently, not including me... could be targeted. He already lost enough money with the loss of Madarame, Kaneshiro, and Okumura alike, and thus did this shortly after the fall of Okumura’s Palace. No Palace means no way to change a heart... except what he did didn’t come without a major drawback.” He smirked. “In doing so, all of the Shadows’ treasures were fused into his. If someone was to take his treasure after sending out a calling card with ALL of his supporter’s names, well... what do you think would happen?” Ren’s eyes widened, and he nodded. “Go ahead. Try it. Pick a target’s name and use the key word ‘Shido’s Palace.’”

Ren explained to the others what he said. Haru gasped, wide eyed. “That sounds too good to be true...”

“Only one way to find out,” Futaba chirped, “try it, Ren.”

He nodded, pulled his phone out of his pocket, thought for a minute, and spoke. “Politician Ooe, Shido’s Palace.”

_ “Conditions have been met.” _

The living gasped as a mischievous grin grew on Ren’s face. He looked up and explained everything. Shock quickly transformed into grins.

“Oh,” Ryuji said smugly, “oh, they are _so_ effed now. What a stupid move!”

“I told him as such!” Itachi huffed. “I said it was a mistake. He said that even if you had figured out who was pulling the strings that the security in his Palace would handle you. Furthermore, he doubted you would ever find out about this plan.” He nodded. “I won’t lie, his Palace will be, by far, your most difficult one to date, but if you can pull it off, you can topple his entire empire... but it’ll only work if you mention his cronies’ names in the calling card. Otherwise they’ll simply be reverted back to their own Palaces.”

Ren shared the information. Morgana laughed and rubbed his front paws together. “Oh... oh, this is good. This is _very_ good. This will be our greatest heist ever... changing multiple hearts in one go!”

“I should warn you about one thing,” Itachi spoke up, “be careful fighting certain ‘cognitions.’ Some of them will be the Shadows of your enemies instead, and killing them in his Palace will result in mental shutdown like in any other Palace.”

“Understood.” Ren looked over the others and shared what he said. Nods came as Ren smiled. “We’ll compose a list of all the targets in his Palace we’ll put on the calling card. It’s gonna be a long one, but well worth it.” 

“Oh, this is gonna be fun.” Futaba cackled, rubbing her hands together with a devious grin. “All those changes of heart at once...!”

“Gonna be quite the shitstorm.” Sojiro mused. He hummed nervously. “Are you sure you kids’ll be okay? Sounds dangerous.”

“Who do you think you’re talking to?” Ren retorted. Kobayakawa cleared his throat.

“Did I do good?” he asked eagerly. “I found him shortly after he died, and...”

“Yes, you did good, Kobayakawa,” Ren praised with a roll of the eyes, “good job.”

The ex-principal beamed proudly, earning subtle, unimpressed side-eyes from the other ghosts. Itachi huffed and walked through the other ghosts, ignoring their protests, and through a stool to approach Sae. He shook his head. “So. You ended up switching sides, huh?”

“He’s talking to you, Sae-san,” Ren spoke up, “he said ‘you ended up switching sides, huh?’”

Sae’s eyes widened even more, briefly, before she curtly nodded and scowled. “I wish I had I known the truth earlier... I owe the Thieves thanks for saving me. It’s a pity you couldn’t get a change of heart before you died, because I can tell without hearing you directly that you’re still as unpleasant as ever. I intend to do whatever it takes with the Thieves to undo the damage you and the man you called your superior wrought. _That’s_ what a prosecutor’s duty is, not serving a short-sighted establishment.”

The old man just stared at her for a second before cracking a small smile and chuckling. “Heh. You’re smarter than I thought, but you’re still a fool as well as an idiot.”

“What did you say about my daughter?!” Genkei snapped, stepping forward to confront the ghost with a scowl. “That’s rich coming from a man who’s so stupid that he wasted years of his life working for a man who ended up tossing him out like yesterday’s trash. At least my daughter got her morals back; you’re just an asshole who wants revenge. I don’t see a lick of remorse on you.”

Itachi took a step back and scowled back at him while Sae, clearly bewildered, looked at Ren. “Don’t lecture me, you ignorant jackass,” he snapped, “look where being high and mighty got you.”

“I feel a lot of tension.” Sae remarked as she took a step back and clutched her purse strap. “What’s going on?”

Ren cringed. “I’m pretty sure your dad wants to fight the former SIU director.”

Sae scowled. “Oh, for— Dad, drop it. Let him be rude. We need him.”

“No, I don’t think I will.” Genkei snapped. “Listen here, you piece of shit. At least I died in the line of duty for something worthwhile and left something good behind in the world— my daughters. You died, sad and alone, betrayed by your own boss. You have no one and nothing to take pride in, and no significant legacy left behind you because you were too busy kissing ass in hopes of a little money and influence being thrown your way. What little you got counts for jack shit in death. What do you have to still be smug over, you dead sack of shit?”

Itachi gaped at him. Kobayakawa cringed and Okumura barely muffled his laughter while Wakaba and Ayumu shared smirks. Ren sank in his seat, covering his face. Makoto frowned and patted his arm.

“Ren, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he croaked, “just witnessed where you got it from is all.”

Kobayakawa shuddered. “I can see the family resemblance...”

Makoto blinked. “Got what from?”

A knowing look was shared among the others. Sae covered her mouth and snickered while Makoto reddened as realization dawned on her. Finally, Itachi scowled and huffed.

“Oh, forget this. I’ll give you all the information you need, and then I’m off to spy on Shido.”

“That works just fine.” Ren muttered awkwardly. He turned to Makoto. “Your dad, uh... just tore the SIU director a new asshole after he said some very not nice things to your sister.”

“I wanna know what he said.” Ryuji said with a raise of the hand and a snicker. Sae nodded and crossed her arms.

“Yes, I think I’d like to know what the conversation that transpired was. All of it. Including what the SIU director tried to say to me.”

Ren sank further in his seat. “Please don’t make me...”

“This is your job as the ghost seer, isn’t it?” Sae pressed. Her gaze was intense. “Don’t shirk your responsibility.”

“What happened to you being uncomfortable about this?!”

“Don’t change the subject, Amamiya.”

His friends snickered and Makoto muttered an exasperated “Sis...” Ren moaned and slumped in his seat, placing the back of his hand to his forehead.

“Oh... I feel so weak. Can’t we continue this later?”

“Sis, leave him be.” Makoto groaned. 

“I’m not going to shoot the messenger!” Sae huffed. Ren closed his eyes and groaned. He clutched at his ribs.

“Sorry, Sae-san, but I think this is the extent of what I can handle tonight.”

“He needs to rest,” Futaba agreed, “wimping out on saying whatever the ghosts said or not, he’s been through a lot.”

Ren nodded, his eyes still closed.

“Mission... _start.”_


	41. Ark

The first day of his recovery, he was visited in the evening by Sae, Makoto, and Genkei. The sisters seemed bewildered by something while Genkei was calm as ever.

“Amamiya-kun, I’m sorry to disturb you, but there’s something that needs to be addressed.” Sae said, shaking ever-so-slightly. Her voice was carefully controlled. “Our father. Wasn’t his final business... my Palace? Why hasn’t he moved on?”

Ren’s brows lifted as he looked at Genkei, who shrugged. The boy moaned and put a hand to his forehead. He squeezed his eyes shut. “I totally forgot about that...”

“It’s understandable, given everything that’s happened.” Makoto shivered, emotional herself as she gave Ren a worried look and sat at his bedside. “Is Dad okay?”

Ren nodded slowly. “He’s still here. As far as I knew, yes, that was supposed to be his final business, but sometimes there’s things we miss. Isshiki-san ended up still being stuck here after I revealed my secret to Sojiro because of the shit Shido is up to. Something else is likely hindering your father.” He looked up tiredly at Genkei. “Do you have any idea what might be wrong?”

“Yeah. I do.” Genkei said bluntly. He pointed at him. “It’s you.”

Ren paled. “What? Me?”

Sae and Makoto’s brows lifted as soft ‘oh’s of understanding escaped them. Genkei nodded. “Yes, you. Originally, you were right— I was held back by Sae’s Palace. However, something else arose during that time— you.” He shook his head. “After seeing all they did to you... all you’ve done for my family... and all the horrible things I’ve seen Shido and his cronies do, I don’t think I can move on yet. I’m too worried about you.”

Ren’s eyes widened. He felt something twitch in his soul as he blinked. “O—Oh. Niijima-san, I— I’ll be okay. You don’t have to worry about me—”

“The hell I don’t!” Genkei protested with a scowl, making Ren flinch. The ghost shook his head and crossed his arms. “You— you’re a Niijima at this point. I can’t abandon you now!”

“But... you’re stuck here because of me!”

“What does it matter?! I’m dead, I don’t have anywhere I have to be!”

Ren groaned and looked up at the sisters as he told them what their father said. He grimaced and closed his eyes. “I... am so sorry. It was never my intention to—”

“Ren, this isn’t anything you did wrong.” Makoto cut in with a soft smile. She sniffled and wiped an eye. “It’s actually because you did everything right. You’re one of us now.”

“Father would never abandon anyone in need, either.” Sae agreed with a nod and a wave of the hand. “This is just like him.” She chuckled. “He’s never been one to let someone else deal with a problem alone, especially not people he’s close to. If he feels he needs to stay until your business is concluded, then so be it. It’ll give us more time to speak with him and get the closure we need.”

Ren blinked a few times. “Oh.” he finally croaked. Genkei chuckled.

“Don’t hurt yourself worrying over me. I’ve made up my mind. Just rest, kid.”

* * *

Ren was forced to rest for days before they began their expedition. With Takemi’s oversight and the loving (if a bit overbearing) care of his team, Ren’s recovery went smoothly and swiftly.

He hated it. Hated being stuck in bed and that reliant on others, but he found that the others did not think of him as a burden. They even seemed as though they found his care to be somewhat cathartic, an apology for making him go through what he did.

Not like he had a choice, though. He swore every time he got up and did anything too strenuous, Wakaba would suddenly appear and stare him down until he went back to lay down. He wondered if Futaba was filming him somehow and snitched on him to her mother. The girl merely replied that she had said aloud to no one in particular that she hoped he was resting, and was not responsible for what happened next.

It at least gave him time to deal with a slew of worried texts from friends and confidants wondering if he was still alive. It also gave him time to wonder what was happening on the Phansite, but the others (particularly Mishima) recommended against it.

“It’s not pretty,” Mishima had said in a call with him a day into recovery, “I’m afraid your reputation tanked, and the site is up in flames. They think your, er... ‘suicide’ is proof you were behind the murders, and Akechi-kun is gloating. Sakamoto said you got really banged up in your escape... so... maybe don’t look at the Phansite while you relax and recover. I’ve got it handled.”

Ren just sighed in response. “Man, you and the whole team...”

There was a pause, then a heavy sigh.

“It’s because we care about you, Amamiya. You’re our friend and there’s no Phantom Thieves without you.”

That shut him up; it was the most stern tone he had ever heard Mishima take with him. He was one of many people Ren had to contend with; Kawakami was another, who checked on him several times after backing his story of going home and brought him homework. Takemi was by daily to check his wounds and shake her head when he asked to go back to work.

When the time came, it was only with great reluctance did he get cleared to go to the Metaverse, with the caveat to take it slow. He was aware of all of his friends staring at him with a lot of anxiety as they entered the Metaverse.

The attention on him came to an abrupt stop as they laid eyes on Shido’s Palace. It was the Diet Building turned massive cruise ship. Ren wondered if there were even cruise ships that reached that size in the real world and doubted it by its almost comically large length. It sailed through a blood red sea and red-cast sky. From the water rose ruined skyscrapers that the cruise ship sailed past with no regard.

The group stared out in open shock and dismay, the wind rustling their hair. No one said anything for a good few seconds before Haru spoke up, holding a fist to her chest.

“Though the world may sink, he alone will stand. That’s what this cognition is about, isn’t it?”

Ryuji’s fists clenched, and he grit his teeth. “Oh, this is effed up. If this guy gets elected, we’re toast! This entire country is effed!”

“Not just Japan,” Makoto breathed, “if Shido gets in power, and he controls the mental shutdowns... how long before he manipulates other elections to put people of a similar frame of mind in office?”

Yusuke shuddered. “That’s a terrifying prospect...”

“No...” Ann gasped. She scowled. “This is the complete opposite of everything he’s been saying! How can people be falling for this?!”

Ren turned to the rest of the team, his eyes hard as he looked among them. “This. This is why we have to fight. This is why the Phantom Thieves exist. This is gonna be our toughest Palace yet, team, but with all of us together...” He grinned. “We got this. Ready to get to work?”

Ryuji grinned toothily and balled a fist he pumped into the air. “You know it, leader!”

“This is our worthiest foe to date,” Yusuke agreed with a nod and a serious gaze, “never before have we faced such a distorted mind...”

“And never before has such a great treasure been ours for the taking!” Mona cried as he hopped in the air. 

“For my mom, for Haru’s dad, and everyone else he’s hurt!” Futaba cheered. 

Ren held a hand out. The others quickly responded by throwing their hands on his in the center, and with a cheer, the group proceeded into the Palace.

They barely had a chance to take in the disgustingly extravagant interior of red and gold before blue fire briefly filled their vision. The group stopped to look themselves over— their thief uniforms met their eyes. 

“He sees us as a threat now...” Queen mused after twisting herself around to look over her outfit. Panther pointed at the guests around them.

“Look. They’re all wearing masks, too.”

“He must not trust anyone,” Mona remarked, “to him, everyone wears a mask. He’s not fooled by it.”

Skull shuddered and crossed his arms as he looked over at Joker. “Hey... didn’t that SIU guy say that all the people we’re targetin’... all their Shadows are here, not just his?”

“That is what he said, yes.” Joker confirmed. 

“Then how many are cognitions, and how many are Shadows?!”

“Impossible to say for sure,” Mona replied, “but there’s one key tell. I see a few with the golden eyes typical of a Shadow. The ones who lack those are probably just cognitions, but Oracle can scan them if need be.”

Oracle shivered as she put her hands alongside her goggles. “There’s a lot of Shadows here... let’s be careful.”

Joker nodded and turned to his team. “Let’s go.” He gestured toward the stairs. “We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”

* * *

Shido’s Palace made Joker want to start slapping people. 

No one seemed to care about fights breaking out in plain sight, and even regarded them as brief entertainment. He heard whispers about not how lucky they were, but how they were worthy of being on Shido’s ship. Their survival at the expense of others was fine and dandy because they were worthy by the merit of their wealth, connections, and status. 

“Fuck this bourgeois bullshit,” Joker hissed, “no offense, Noir.”

“None taken. At all.” Noir growled as she looked around herself.

They learned upon reaching the assembly room that they needed the most powerful and honored guests of Shido to give them letters of recommendation to even reach the Treasure. Mona reported that he could sense a particularly strong sensation of a Treasure beyond doors to the assembly floor of the cognitive Diet Building.

Joker almost forgot about all of that and the disgusting, amoral guests of the ship when he stepped foot into a room of the Palace among the hallways to guest rooms. Just as he noticed a gaudy golden statue of Shido with golden eyes, with a puff of smoke, he was much lower to the ground. Much internal cursing was had as Oracle explained that they would be turned to mice beneath the gaze of the statue of Shido. 

“The times I got turned into this in Futaba’s Palace was more than enough as it was.” Joker groaned, his voice high-pitched and squeaky. Fox scratched behind his ears.

“This is prepawsterous!... Or something like that!”

A chorus of groans escaped the team, and Oracle grumbled.

“Oh, go to Hell, Inari.”

Soon enough, they reached their first target in an upscale restaurant of Shido’s Palace— Politician Ooe, who did not take kindly to Queen manipulating him into admitting he ordered the train crash in April. 

It was then that the “cognition”— what would, in any other Palace, really be just a cognition— warped into the monstrous true form of a Shadow, Yamata-no-Orochi, and initiated a fight. They won handily and took their first letter by force. 

“Looks like the SIU guy was right,” Oracle remarked, “that was 100% the real Shadow of Politician Ooe.”

“I wonder how they did it.” Queen remarked, a hand on her chin and the letter in her other. “Shido must be pouring a lot of resources into cognitive psience research.”

“What a fool he is. Thinking we wouldn’t get this far...” Fox huffed.

“I’m not complaining; it works out REALLY well for us!” Panther giggled. She threw an arm around Joker’s shoulders and squeezed as the leader gave her a baffled look. “It’s all thanks to our _amazing_ leader, though!”

Joker blinked. “What are you talking about? I’m not the one who told Shido to put all of his allies in his Palace.”

Noir giggled, smiled, and shrugged, her hands clasped behind her back. “Who else could have talked to a dead man to find out how we could topple all of Shido’s allies at once?”

He shrugged. Skull grinned and elbowed him. “Hah! Still shy about it, huh? Don’t be, dead guy whisperer!”

Joker rolled his eyes and elbowed Skull back. Oracle giggled. “Come on; we still have four more letters we need to get!”

* * *

It took days of dealing with horrible people, passing through numerous labyrinths of hallways and repeated transformations into mice and back, but eventually, they acquired their fourth letter and decided to call it a day before going after their final letter from the Cleaner.

They got their rest, and the following day after school got out, they gathered in the cafe to chat and check their supplies before they jumped into the Metaverse. Sojiro seemed disinterested as per usual when they met in the cafe as he watched the TV while smoking a cigarette. Wakaba hung nearby and watched the TV with him. Okumura hung around near the booth Haru sat in, his arms crossed as he watched the news talk about the election with a scowl on his face.

“Alright,” Ren addressed the team as he stood up, “supplies are good. Weapons have been checked and maintained. Everyone’s feeling up to this?”

Nods came. Ann shuddered and looked down anxiously. “I wonder what ‘the cleaner’ is going to be... he kept sending Shadows after us. Why does Shido need a cleaner...?”

“That’s code for an assassin. Probably yakuza.” Sojiro said bluntly as he looked over at the team. Everyone flinched.

“Wha— for real?” Ryuji gasped. Sojiro grunted and nodded.

“Positive.”

“That would explain why he keeps sending Shadows after us.” Makoto mused, a hand on her chin. Sojiro exhaled sharply and shook his head.

“Hearing the things and people you kids face gives this old man a headache. Don’t you agree, Wakaba?”

“Yes, but they can handle him, after all they’ve done so far.” she concurred. Ren shared what he said, and Sojiro exhaled sharply with a shake of the head.

“I know, but that doesn’t stop me from worrying.” He turned to Ren. “You’re sure you kids have enough food, water, and coffee, right?”

“We’re good.” Ren confirmed. He clapped his hands together. “Alright, let’s—”

_** “Ren!” ** _

Ayumu’s voice came abruptly. Ren yelped as the ghost appeared in front of him without warning, causing him to fall on his ass back into the booth he had been sitting it. He gasped and clutched his aching chest.

“Akechi-san, what’s wrong?!” He closed his eyes and moaned. “And why do ghosts always DO that?!”

“It’s not like they can really give you a warning...” Futaba muttered. Ryuji snickered under his breath, beneath a hand, prompting Ren to shoot him the stink eye that only made him struggle to hold back his laughter. 

“Pull yourself together, Ryuji!” Makoto scolded sternly. “If Akechi’s mother is here, it must be something important!”

“It is. It’s dire.” Ayumu stared hard at Ren and gave a shaky breath. “It’s my son. He’s figured out you’re still alive.”

Ren blanched, Okumura made a choking noise, and Wakaba gasped in dismay; the boy’s face fell instantly. “Oh, fuck.” he gasped.

“‘Oh, fuck’ what?” Sojiro demanded, his eyes narrowing. “I can feel Wakaba getting upset.”

“My father, too.” Haru shivered. 

Ren grimaced and looked at the group ashe told them what she said. The room immediately tensed and gasped as Ren turned to Ayumu. “Thanks for the warning. Do you know how or when he intends to try to kill us?”

“He intends to ambush you in the engine room of Shido’s ship,” Ayumu explained, “right after you get the last letter you need. Be warned that he is far stronger than most Persona users; you need to make sure you’re all healed and prepared.” She let out a sob. “Please... I know I have no right to ask this, especially because he’s attacking you, but please... if you can, spare him. Please. He’s still my son, and I want him to atone for what he did.”

“Your son is a murderer.” Okumura snapped. “They’ll do what they have to.”

Ayumu glared at him. “And you ordered murders, did you not? You’re one to talk.”

Ren grimaced and turned to the others. He said what she said, and looks were shared. Haru crossed her arms and glared down at the tabletop while Futaba hugged her knees from where she crouched on a stool.

“We appreciate the heads-up,” Futaba said reluctantly, “that gives us a significant advantage, but...” 

“Listen,” Sojiro said sternly, putting a hand on the counter and looking where Ren was looking, “I get it. You don’t want your kid to die. None of these kids want to kill him, either. They’re not killers, but their lives come first; they need to do whatever they have to survive and defend themselves. If they can subdue him and end without a tragedy, great, but if he dies while they’re defending themselves, you need to remember that he put them in that position.” He sighed and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Akechi-san. This is a damn mess, but your son made his choices.”

“Agreed.” Kunikazu huffed.

“I agree.” Wakaba said with a scowl. “Listen, I’m not saying this because he killed me, but I don’t want my kids throwing their lives away for your kid.”

“I know.” Ayumu croaked. “Listen... I won’t blame any of you if it comes to that, but... I have to make my plea. Do what you can to stop him peacefully.” The woman sighed. “Also, be wary: even if you win, he’s prone to doing dramatic or drastic things if he feels cornered.” She squeezed her eyes shut and let out a shuddering breath and a sob. “Be careful... and please... try to spare him if you can.”

Ren felt tears of his own burning the corners of his eyes as he took a breath and turned to the others. Everyone was grim-faced as he raised his phone.

“Well... let’s not keep him waiting for us. Let’s go.”


	42. The Engine Room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW suicide mention. Nothing explicit but it’s mentioned.

They had to crawl through an exhaust vent to reach the engine room. All of them were gagging at the powerful smell of exhaust as they escaped the vent and quickly pulled away from it and into the open. All of them instinctively gasped for clean air.

Their coughing and gagging gave them away immediately to the cleaner, who threw some minions at them and retreated to the back. They managed to climb through yet another (thankfully nowhere near as malodorous) vent to break through the ceiling to ambush the cleaner.

The exasperated Shadow threw off his jacket, revealing a toned, muscular body covered in tattoos along the arms and shoulders.

“What clan are you from?” he asked sternly, annoyed. Panther shivered.

“Crap, Boss was right...! Yakuza clan...?!”

Joker cleared his throat and began negotiations that eventually devolved into Fox improvising a tattoo design of a phoenix for the man. He was so impressed that he agreed to the request for a letter... on one condition. Fox was to be his personal tattoo artist, to which the boy declined.

A short fight later after Fox insulted him, and they had the final letter. The cleaner was laughing to himself as he passed the letter to them.

“I like you kids,” he chuckled, “good luck with Shido. I’m out of here; this ship isn’t going to last much longer if you made it this far.”

With that, the Shadow departed, cognitive cronies at his heel. Oracle checked local readings with her Persona and tsked.

“Looks like that one‘s trying to up and leave for his own Palace. From what I can tell, it’ll probably take awhile, but we should probably figure on striking him from the target list, at least for now. He’ll probably be out by the time we send the calling card.”

“Damn. Guy could have used the change of heart.” Skull grumbled. Oracle scoffed.

“We should just be grateful the other powerful ones haven’t fled yet. They probably believe so much in Shido that they think he’ll win and see no need to flee.”

“That, and the cleaner was likely only linked monetarily.” Queen agreed, a hand on her chin. “He probably didn’t feel a degree of loyalty that might keep him here.”

“What’s the point of a cleaner, though, if they can just cause mental shutdowns?” Noir wondered aloud. Joker shrugged.

“Beats me. Seems like it’d be cleaner just to have Akechi kill them, but who knows with Shido. Anyways, Oracle, do you detect Akechi?”

“Yeah.” The girl took a breath and looked over the screens she had summoned around her. “He’s hanging out on the overhang over the exit to this hallway. Everyone ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Joker huffed, “how about the rest of you?”

Muttered agreements came. Joker tiptoed toward the exit and readied a heavy smoke bomb in his hand. He lobbed it into the room, causing thick black smoke to briefly engulf the room. As they covered their mouths and moved into position, they could hear Akechi struggling to muffle his coughing. 

Joker focused toward where he knew the boy was and activated his third eye, illuminating him through the slowly dissipating smoke. The boy lifted his gun and pointed it at the would-be assassin, who was left gaping as the smoke cleared and the Phantom Thieves trained their guns on him.

“Akechi.” Joker greeted calmly. “Why don’t you come down here to talk? This doesn’t have to end violently.” 

He stared at Ren with an expression he found completely unreadable. The boy finally huffed and jumped through the air, landing on the floor before them with a flip. There was a cold, predatory look in his eyes.

“No sudden moves,” Joker warned coldly, “I think the one bullet to your shoulder was enough, wasn’t it?”

“I’m surprised you managed to deceive me,” Akechi said coolly, “and now, you knew I was here. You knew I was coming and where I would be. How?”

Mona scoffed. “As if he’d tell you that.”

Akechi stared at Joker with that same unreadable expression. He crossed his arms. “Hmph. You truly are interesting... quiet, yet possessing the courage and determination to take action.” His voice took on a tinge of regret, a tinge of longing. “Under different circumstances, we could have been great rivals... or perhaps even friends.”

Joker shrugged. “What? We’re not friends already?” He pouted. “I thought you loved me! Don’t you know attempted murder is the purest form of love?”

“Joker, now?” Queen groaned, exasperated. Akechi laughed (sincerely, Joker thought) and smiled in a way he found unsettling. 

“How wonderful! You do by allow yourself to be enslaved by such things as human relations or past selves... and so, your heart is always free. The exact opposite of mine. To be honest, I’m envious... I wonder why we couldn’t have met a few years earlier.”

Joker just stared at him with tired eyes.

“Akechi!” Queen snapped, stepping forward. “You need to stop! Your insane plan to corner Shido— your father— isn’t going to work in your favor! You’re just going to get yourself killed!”

Akechi jolted. For perhaps the first time, Joker saw genuine shock in his eyes before he scowled defensively and clenched a fist.

“How did you know that?! How do you all keep knowing things you shouldn’t?! I told no one about that, and no one, not even Shido, knew that I’m his son!” Akechi stomped a foot. “The only person who knew was my mother, and she’s dead! How do you keep being one step ahead of me?! Unless you could read my mind—”

“Your mother told me.” Joker said bluntly. The team flinched, and Akechi stared. 

“Joker, what are you doing?!” Oracle hissed. Joker shrugged.

“Have some faith in me, Oracle.” He took a step forward toward Akechi. “You’re right. We were always one step ahead of you. It was never due to Oracle’s hacking or Queen finding a notebook. It was me. I can speak to the dead. Wakaba Isshiki, Okumura, Kobayakawa, the SIU director— every single one of them told me everything we needed to know to evade all of your traps.”

“So that’s how...” Akechi gasped. “This... would explain everything.” The shock in Akechi’s expression changed to rage as the boy grit his teeth and clenched his fists. “You...!” 

“She wants you to stop, Akechi.” Joker snapped. “She says you’re going to get yourself killed—”

“What does she know?!” Akechi screamed, his face reddening. The others flinched, but Joker just stood there calmly as Akechi threw a hand down. “She doesn’t get to have a say! She fucking DIED! She’s DEAD, and she’s been useless to me this whole time! Worse— she’s betrayed me by helping you! If it wasn’t for the fact I need to settle this now, I’d have you go tell my mother off for dying!”

Joker frowned and raised an eyebrow. “Tell her off...?”

Akechi began to laugh a broken laugh and shook his head, a palm on his forehead. “She didn’t tell you, did she...? She didn’t tell you how she died!” His eyes were cold and angry. “She committed suicide!”

A chorus of gasps arose. Joker blanched. “Suicide...?!”

“That’s right,” Akechi spat, “it was like she forgot I existed and left me to handle the aftermath! My life was hell because of her!”

Joker grimaced. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry... she never told me...”

Akechi let out a broken laugh and shook his head. “Of course she wouldn’t! I doubt she would have told you the truth even if you asked! She’s probably trying to selfishly atone by making you care about me now, but it’s too fucking late! I hate her, and I hate you!”

Joker shook his head. “Akechi, I can’t speak for your mother right now, but she loves you; I would bet that there’s more to this than it seems, and if you let me, we can talk to her together. It’s understandable that you’re upset, but you’re going to throw your life away! You don’t have to—”

“SHUT UP!” Akechi clutched the sides of his head and almost frothed at the mouth. “SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP, YOU GODDAMN FREAK!”

Joker was unfazed, but the team stiffened with anger. “Don’t call him a freak, you fucking psychopath!” Skull snapped. Akechi barked out a broken laugh.

“He is! Only a— a fucking freak would see the dead!” His eyes were practically filled with fire. “Why am I inferior to you?! I was extremely particular about my life, my grades, my public image, so someone would want me around!” He threw his arms out. “I am an ace detective... a celebrity! You— you’re just some criminal trash living in an attic! So... how?! How does someone like you have things I don’t?!” He stomped a foot. “How can such a worthless piece of trash be more special than me?!”

“You need to stop.” Joker snapped, as if scolding a child having a tantrum. “I’ve made my peace with myself. It doesn’t matter what you do to fill that void of yours if you can’t do the same.”

“Don’t lecture me, you piece of shit!” he snapped. Joker kept talking.

“Shido won’t give a fuck who you are. He’s just going to kill you with no hesitation when you tell him who you are.” Akechi’s entire face had gone a bright, enraged red, but Joker continued. “You know it, too. You want him to care, to feel fear, regret, and the same despair you did. But he won’t, and he never will without a change of heart.”

Akechi’s bloodshot eyes shot open. For a split second, they flashed golden. “SHUT UP! I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!”

His scream echoed through the engine room. Behind him, the shadowy figure of a jagged Persona was seen briefly as a powerful burst of energy escaped Akechi, causing the group to stumble. Some dropped their weapons in the stunned state and scrambled to get them back as Shadows appeared behind Akechi, who had an increasingly insane grin on his face. The others looked at each other nervously while Joker scowled.

“Oh, let’s get on with it, Black Mask.”

Akechi cackled like a hyena. “My mother told you that, too, did she?! Fine! It’s no use hiding... you’ll see for yourselves right before I make you all join her!”

He screamed as a dramatic flourish of dark magic enveloped him, warping his outfit into that of the black mask they had seen before in Okumura’s Palace as he laughed and laughed, broken and insane.

“LOKI!” he cried, and behind him, the black and white striped, gnarled Persona manifested in full. It seemed amused by the turn of events, though Joker couldn’t place why he sensed that attitude from it.

Nevertheless, with gritted teeth, they jumped into the fray.

* * *

The fight ended up being easier than it could have been otherwise; the warning gave Oracle ample time to scan Akechi for weaknesses and strengths. She was able to immediately position hack the team around the Shadows Akechi had summoned and driven psychotic; an all-out-attack made quick work of them. 

Akechi fought viciously, but overall, sloppily. He was emotionally distraught and enraged the entire fight, making it easy for the team to evade attacks. Noir in particular was good at dodging attacks and came precariously close to swinging her ax upon his flesh several times.

They had more than enough of the edge to defeat him, and soon enough, the boy collapsed to the ground, wailing in frustration as he landed on his knees.

“Are you ready to call it quits?” Skull finally sighed. Oracle nodded.

“It’s over, Black Mask; we have the high ground.”

Fox gave her a quizzical look. “But we didn’t. He was up on that platform, remember?”

Oracle groaned and rolled her eyes. “It’s a meme, Inari...”

Joker cleared his throat, and Skull continued speaking coolly. “You need to realize you’re your own person. You don’t have to let Shido control you like this.”

Akechi didn’t respond right away. He just stared at the floor before he sighed forlornly and picked his head up.

“... You’re so lucky.” he remarked longingly. “Lucky to be surrounded... by teammates who acknowledge you... who accept you... and once Shido confesses his crimes, you’ll all be heroes.” He let out a broken laugh. “As for me... people will find out my past deductions were just charade. My fame and trust will vanish.”

Joker sighed. “Did it make you happy, Akechi? Did it make you happy to pretend, to keep putting on that mask in public for your fame and glory? Did the love of the masses really satisfy you?”

Akechi scoffed and hung his head. “Idiot... you already know the answer to that.” He chuckled humorlessly. “In the end... I couldn’t be special...”

“Dude... you’re more than special.” Skull said. Akechi’s head jerked up, his eyes wide with shock. Queen crossed her arms.

“Much as it pains me to admit... your wit and strength far exceed our own. We only defeated you by teaming up.” Her voice wavered. “I was honestly... envious of your natural ability. It was frustrating to see how much my sister trusted you...”

“I have no intention of forgiving you for what you did to my father,” Noir said coldly, “but... I sympathize with you. I wholeheartedly understand wanting to get back at the people who took from you...”

Fox nodded. “But when you gained the power to fulfill that desire, you only used it for your own self-benefit.”

Futaba stared down at him. “If you’ve got more than one Persona, maybe you actually have the same kinda power as Joker. But you trusted no one, so you only got two Personas: one for your lies, and one for your hate.” She shook her head. “Still, you thought that was enough, right? That part I totally get.”

Fox stepped forward. “You excelled at everything over us... yet that was the one thing you lacked.”

Akechi scoffed. “That... and Joker’s power. Can you honestly say he isn’t more special than me?”

Joker stared at him quietly as all eyes went to him. Finally, the boy knelt down to his eye level.

“No,” Joker said sternly, “because before these guys, I was almost completely unwilling to accept myself.”

Akechi stared at him, baffled. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Joker shook his head. “My parents taught me to hate and distrust my power to see the dead. I tried so hard to hide it, to ignore the spirits and keep myself hidden and locked away from everyone... but in the end, they broke down my walls and found out anyways.” He turned and looked at them lovingly. “I was ready for them to hate me, to call me a freak and abandon me like everyone else did... but they didn’t. They love me all the same and encouraged me to accept myself, to use what was given to me. To be  proud of it.” His voice cracked. “Without them... I would have never accepted it. Never. It was only through them that I came to terms with myself, with my gift. I owe them so much, and love them all more than I can put in words.”

The looks on their faces briefly shifted from concern to adoration as they smiled at their leader. “Ren-Ren...!” Skull gasped, choked up. He sniffled and pulled his mask up to wipe at his eyes.

“Y—You’re gonna make us c—cry!” Panther sniffled. Fox openly began to tear up; he pulled his mask and wiped his eyes as he sniffled.

“The feeling is mutual, my dearest friend.”

Oracle just smiled. “We all love you, too, Joker.”

Joker turned back to a shaking Akechi. “It was all of them. I wouldn’t have been able to find all of this out without their support. Corny as it sounds... we make each other stronger. That’s what gave us the edge we needed to defeat you. Not superiority.”

Akechi didn’t respond verbally. He just stared at him with wide eyes as he stood up. Skull grinned. “Alright, let’s go get that callin’ card ready.” He stared at Akechi intensely. “We’re gonna take Shido down. What are you gonna do?”

Panther nodded. “It’d be a problem if you kept getting in our way. Wanna come along and help settle things?”

A soft gasp of disbelief escaped Akechi. The boy shook his head. “Are you all idiots? You should get rid of me... if you don’t want me getting in your way.”

“Fuck that,” Joker scoffed, a hand on his hip, “then I’d have to deal with you as a ghost. I can’t imagine a bigger asshole to have haunting me.”

Akechi blinked, smiled, and laughed. He coughed and shook and clutched his chest as he did so, but still, he laughed. Unlike before, it was whole-hearted. When he was capable of speech again, he nodded. “... I would take pride in that title, but fine.” He slowly began to struggle to rise, shook as he moaned with pain and stumbled back to a crouching position. He gasped and shook his head. “Besides... I need to— I _need_ to know what happened with my mother. I’ll need your hel—”

He and the group stopped short at the sight of another Akechi approaching from out of nowhere. The real Akechi looked up with a gape as the cognitive Akechi chuckled behind a hand and pointed a gun at the crouching real version of himself.

The cognition looked toward the shell shocked group with minimal emotion in his eyes or voice. “... I’ll deal with the rest of you later.” He looked down at the shaking real Akechi. “Captain Shido’s orders. He has no need for losers.” He shrugged. “Well... this just moves the plan up a little. He was going to get rid of you after the election anyways.”

Akechi’s eyes widened as a scandalized noise escaped him. “What...?!”

The cognition shook his head. “Did you truly believe you’d be spared after all the murders you undertook? Don’t tell me... were you actually feeling good about having someone rely on you for once?” He nodded. “Oh, and by the way, the Captain has decided it’s time you receive retribution for causing the mental shutdowns.”

“What the hell, man?!” Skull cried in dismay and anger as he raised a fist and pulled it back. “That bastard’s the one who put him up to it!”

A strange smile crept onto the real Akechi’s face. He chuckled as he shakily rose to his feet, still hunched over and breathing shakily, and stared at the ground. “I see... I was wondering how he’d protect himself if I used my power to tear through his Palace. Turns out you’re how. So he’s making a puppet kill me... sounds like something he would do.”

The cognitive Akechi nodded stiffly, once. “That’s right. I’ll do anything... but look at yourself... you’re the true puppet.”

Akechi’s eyes hardened as he glared at him. A soft gasp escaped him. Finally, the cognitive Akechi smiled. It was an open-mouthed, mocking grin with an intense look in his eyes. “You wanted to be acknowledged, didn’t you? To be loved? You’ve been nothing but a puppet from the very beginning.”

“You little...!” Skull hissed.

“So this... is what Shido thinks of Goro Akechi...” Queen gasped, shaken. “It’s... it’s too horrible!”

“It’s not too late!” Noir cried. “We can change his heart together! Even if he’s your father— no, because he’s your father!”

“We made a promise to your mother to do everything we could to save your life!” Panther added firmly. 

The cognitive Akechi turned to give the group a murderous look and a scowl. “What’s all the nagging about? Do you want me to take care of you first?”

A small army of Shadows appeared behind him. The group took a step back instinctively. “No... he’s not alone!” Panther gasped.

“You know what? I’ll let someone volunteer to take his place.” Cognitive Akechi said in the cold, emotionless tone from earlier. “Who knows? You may delay his death.”

“Damn you...!” Skull cursed, shaking a fist. The cognition gave them the menacing grin from earlier.

“You guys are all about doing things for others, aren’t you? That’s just the same for me. I’m going to take all the blame for our captain. I’ll die for him, too.”

Queen clenched her fists. “THIS is what Shido thinks of Akechi, even after making him help with the murders...?!”

“Here, I’ll give you one last chance. Shoot them.” the cognitive Akechi ordered. The real Akechi chuckled humorlessly to himself as he looked down.

“Hah... I was such a fool.”

“Oracle,” Joker hissed, “get your Persona out. Do you think you can position hack us out of here somehow?”

The girl hummed anxiously as she pulled off her mask. “I’ll do my best.”

Cognitive Akechi didn’t seem to care as her Persona, Prometheus formed around her and lifted into the air. The real Akechi gave the group a briefly quizzical look before silently straightening his back and pulling his gun out of his holster to point it at Joker. Joker stood still as the cognitive Akechi laughed.

“Yes... that’s the you our captain wishes to see.”

Akechi shook his head with a smug grin. “Don’t misunderstand...” His eyes hardened. “You’re the one who’s going to disappear!”

He turned and shot the cognition. It clutched its side and stumbled to the ground, gasping out in agony. Before anyone could react, he turned and shot a button on the wall, causing red sirens along the walls to go off.

“The watertight bulkhead door has been closed,” an automated voice announced, “all personnel within the partition wall, evacuate at once.” 

A metal wall to extended up, effectively blocking off the two groups. Joker gasped and Skull slammed his fists against it, causing it to reverberate loudly. “Akechi!”

“Hurry up and go!” Akechi barked, his voice muffled. 

“You fool!” Fox cried, throwing a hand down as his voice wavered. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?!”

“The real fools are you guys.” Akechi scoffed. “You should have just abandoned me here a long time ago.”

“I promised your mom we’d try to save you!” Joker protested desperately, slamming the wall. Akechi scoffed.

“Don’t worry; I’ll face my mother myself and explain you tried to save me, but I made my choice. You would have all perished if you tried to fight with me weighing you down. I’ll see you back in the real world, Joker... or more accurately, you’ll see me.”

Violent, pained coughs came from the other side, making everyone flinch. Joker felt deep-set dread rise within him as he turned to Prometheus. 

“I’m working as fast as I can!” Oracle cried.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but it’s hopeless! Just stop!” Akechi cried. “Let’s make a deal... okay? You won’t say no; I’ll haunt you if you say no. Change Shido’s heart!”

“But—”

“God damn it, Joker!” Akechi cried. “Promise me!”

“I promise!” Joker agreed desperately. “Just— hold on!”

“You’re an idiot if you think I can!” He huffed. “I’ll see you soon, Joker.”

The boy raised his gun just as cognitive Akechi began to pick himself up, still clutching his side as he glared powerfully at the real Akechi. He extended his gun toward him just as Akechi pointed his gun at him. 

His finger tugged on the trigger at the same time as the cognition. The last thing he caught was the bangs and a flash of light before he came back to his senses. He swore he saw the bullet a split second before the light came, and gave himself up.

He opened his eyes to find himself on the other side of the partition, facing the Thieves who were breathing with relief.

“I did it,” Oracle gasped tiredly but proudly as Prometheus lowered her to the ground, “I did it! Position hack at just the last second!”

Akechi gaped at them speechlessly, breathing shallowly in pain and shock.

“How?” he rasped. “Why?”

“I promised your mother.” Joker huffed. Heapproached Akechi and knelt down in front of him, meeting his gaze. “Also, I REALLY did not want to put up with you as a ghost. Your mom warned us that you might do something dramatic or drastic, so we planned on position hacking you out of the way if we could.” He turned and beamed at Oracle. “You owe her thanks, specifically.”

Akechi stared at Oracle, who flicked her hair over her shoulder.

“It wasn’t for you,” she huffed, “it was for your mom in return for giving us information that helped us save Joker. Also, I couldn’t subject him to the ghost version of you. Ew.”

Akechi barked out a broken laugh, straining and wheezing in pain in between laughs. He grinned toothily, tears slipping from his eyes.

“... Idiots. All of you... are idiots.” He looked up tiredly at Joker. “I’ll... help you change my father’s heart. But... please help me get out of here. I don’t think I can stand...”

Joker nodded and moved one of Akechi’s arms around his shoulders. He looked up at Skull, who moved in and got his other shoulder. Mona was already summoning his Persona and casting a healing spell on Akechi that flowed over him, soothing the pain. 

He still felt exhausted and weak, and silently allowed the team to escort him out of the Metaverse. Everything ached as they quietly entered the real world and took him back in the direction of Leblanc.

“Futaba, can you call Sojiro and ask him to call Dr. Takemi to Leblanc? He shouldn’t be in any sort of serious danger thanks to Morgana, but it’d be good to have him looked at anyways.” Ren asked as they headed out of the train station of Yongen. Futaba nodded and began fiddling with her phone while Akechi ignored the odd looks from onlookers he was getting and looked straight ahead of himself.

As they entered the narrow alleyway, he looked up, training his eyes on the outside of Leblanc as they turned the corner.

He saw his mother. 

Akechi blinked a few times at the sight of his mother standing across from the doorway, her hands clasped. The figure of his mother stared tearfully at him with a smile and sob of relief. Blinking several times didn’t make her disappear from his vision.

Wakaba Isshiki, and Kunikazu Okumura appeared next, phasing through the door to give him wary looks. An officer he didn’t recognize beyond the fact that he looked like Makoto Niijima followed closely after.

His brows lifted slightly as his eyes darted between the ghosts. Ayumu’s brows lifted first with realization as her son focused on her with wide eyes.

“Goro,” she gasped as they approached, “Goro, can you see me?”

Ren turned and gave Akechi a wide-eyed look as the boy stiffened and gaped at his mother.

“Akechi,” Ren whispered, “do you see her? Do you hear her?”

The team silenced and stared, opened-mouthed at Akechi as tears began to roll down his cheeks. 

“Mother...” he breathed. “Isshiki... Okumura...” He gave Ren a baffled look. “But... how? I couldn’t see or hear them before...”

“A near-death experience.” Yusuke surmised. “I remember Mifune-san said that in rare cases the ability can appear in those who shouldn’t be alive.”

Akechi gasped softly as Okumura disappeared and then reappeared a moment later. Akechi and Ren alike pulled back in alarm as a large crowd of ghosts began to form all around them.

All of them were staring angrily at Akechi. 

“Do you see them, too?” Kunikazu demanded as the air chilled immensely, making everyone shiver. Akechi in particular felt it penetrate his heart and soul with fear. “You should recognize them well.”

Akechi felt his gut lurch with dread as he and Ren looked around themselves in dismay.

“Oh,” the boy whispered, “fuck.”


	43. Judgment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW mentions of suicide, depression, and physical abuse. You have been warned.

The angry ghosts quickly descended into a screaming, cursing mob. Ren stepped away from a terrified-looking Akechi as the mob convened on him. Ghosts ran through him repeatedly, causing him to feel as though he was standing in a blizzard. The boy shouted loudly, but didn’t run. He hunched over, closed his eyes, and put his hands over his ears in a hopeless attempt to protect himself. Ayumu remained at his side, grimacing but not speaking.

The other thieves, though unscathed by the mob, were all staring at Akechi with white-faced horror; even those who couldn’t see the ghosts could sense the strong cold and outrage. Wakaba remained by her daughter, standing in front of her with a disturbed look in her eyes. Genkei just stood by his daughter and watched the spectacle unfold calmly. Sojiro shook and stood in the doorway with a dumbfounded, wide-eyed gape.

The only ones who didn’t seem disturbed were Haru and her father. Both were grinning smugly. 

“Can you make ‘em stop?” Ryuji whispered at last, terrified. “Holy shit...”

Ren cleared his throat. “Um, everyone?”

The ghosts stopped and turned to give him a quizzical look.

“What is it?” the angry specter of a man demanded. “We’re just making sure he knows how mad we are.”

“It’s what he deserves.” a woman ghost agreed firmly. Ren sighed.

“I know, but you’re scaring the rest of the living. Don’t you think it’d be best to go convene elsewhere and discuss how to best punish him effectively for his crimes? Besides, he’s agreed to help us take his father down. Let him do that, at least, before punishment starts.”

The ghosts all shared looks before looking around the neighborhood. Most suddenly cringed and backed away from Akechi, who had cracked a hesitant eye open.

“Come with me,” Genkei spoke up, stepping forward, “everyone. I’ve learned a thing or two from watching my prosecutor daughter. We’ll discuss how he’ll be handled.”

Silent nods came. Genkei and Okumura vanished, and with them went the mob, albeit only with angry looks back at Akechi.

Everyone, seer and non-seer, ghost and living alike let out breaths of relief as the air cleared. The neighborhood around them had gone completely silent— those walking about had retreated into their homes or left the area, and the second-hand shop had closed in the ruckus.

“I think everyone got the gut feeling of ‘I shouldn’t be here’ that you get in haunted places. That was terrifying.” Sojiro sighed. “Good job getting them to leave, but there goes my business for the day...” His eyes narrowed at Akechi. “What is he doing here?”

“We saved him per his mom’s request.” Ren explained as Akechi quietly moved to lean against a wall with exhaustion. “He knows. He’s agreed to help with Shido. But, uh... there’s a problem.”

Akechi just moaned and covered his face.

* * *

Ayumu left to speak with the rest if the ghosts after Takemi gave Akechi a clean bill of health.

“I know this is bad timing, that you have a lot of questions, and I’m sorry, but someone has to be the devil’s advocate.” she apologized. Akechi just stared at her with an exhausted look as she left.

Everyone gathered in the attic. Futaba sat closely by Ren on his bed while her mother stood in front of her. The others pulled out the table and chairs and sat in various locales as they all stared at Akechi, who had parked himself on the couch.

His head leaned back as he moaned softly. He ran a hand over his face.

“Amamiya,” he pleaded quietly, “please tell me this is reversible.”

“It’s not.” 

“God fucking damn it.” He groaned, loudly, and slapped both hands over his face. “Fuck. Shit. Goddamn it. Fuck. I’m cursed.”

“It’s only a curse due to the actions you took.” Yusuke said sternly. “This is no one’s fault but your own.”

Akechi grumbled and picked his head up. Dark bags were visible under his eyes as he lowered his hands. “You don’t need to remind me. Fucksake, I KNOW this is my fault.” He gave Ren an incredulous look. “How the fuck do you not go insane from this?”

Ren shrugged and gave him a smile. “Well, for starters, I haven’t murdered a bunch of people who now want to haunt me in revenge...”

Ryuji grinned mockingly and reached over to pat Ren’s shoulder. “Amazin’ what a difference that makes, huh?”

“Oh, fuck both of you.” The boy let out a humorless, broken laugh. “There’s no escape! If I off myself, I’ll just be a ghost and stuck here all the same! Fuck this!”

Makoto scoffed and crossed her arms. “You made your bed. Lie in it.”

Akechi gave her a dirty look, but nevertheless grumbled and shook his head with a resigned sigh. “Seems like I don’t have any other choice.” He turned to Ren. “I still have a lot of words for my mother, but she’s going to be gone for awhile. I suppose now would be the best time for you to explain all things ghost to me.”

* * *

Ren did his best to explain it all, with periodic contributions from his team or Wakaba. To some small extent, it struck him how his team would speak of it in such a matter-of-fact way. It was as normal to them as a discussion on the Metaverse.

It felt... good, he thought, to have people helping and talking with him who understood all the ghost business. Akechi seemed neither shocked nor stunned by it all— he just looked exhausted the entire time.

“You all seem quite comfortable with it.” Akechi finally grumbled.

“Eh,” Ryuji shrugged, “after awhile, it’s not any weirder than Metaverse stuff. You stop really thinking about it.”

Akechi moaned and shook his head, wincing. “And I just had to be lucky enough to get the ‘gift?’”

Haru smiled maliciously. “Why? Aren’t you happy you’re just as special as Ren-kun?”

The boy closed his eyes and exhaled sharply through his teeth. “Fuck. Me.”

“Gay.” Ren quipped.

Akechi flipped him off and groaned. “This isn’t a gift, it’s a curse. I’m not looking forward to whatever those ghosts decide to do.” His eyes hardened. “But I need to speak to mother as soon as possible.”

Futaba shrugged. “Honestly... I’m jealous. You’re really lucky.”

Goro gave Futaba an incredulous look. “How?” he griped, a hand on his head. “I’m cursed for the rest of my life to see the dead, many of whom are angry with me and are going to haunt me until they move on.” He scowled. “How can you consider this LUCKY?” 

“You get to see and hear your mom again.” Futaba said bluntly. “I’d take all of that just to be able to see my mom again. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great having Ren be able to speak for her, but it’s not quite the same thing as actually seeing and hearing for yourself.” She sniffled and looked down. The girl clutched her knees tightly. “I’ve always been sort of jealous of Ren for that.”

“Futaba...” Ren murmured. Wakaba frowned.

“Oh, Futaba...”

She just offered Ren a reassuring smile. “I’m not upset with you or anything; it’s the opposite, by far. But I can’t help but wish that... that I could be like you.” She choked on a sob, lifted her glasses, and wiped her eyes. “I’d give a lot to be have the gift you guys have.”

“I feel the same way, honestly.” Makoto murmured, hugging herself. She sighed. “I actually feel pretty much exactly the same way as Futaba. I wish I could see and hear my father like Ren can. He’s got an extraordinary gift... and now, you share it. It’s only a curse right now because of your actions. Unlike Futaba and I, you actually get to see your parent for yourself.”

“Me as well.” Haru remarked with forlorn sigh. “I was so excited when I learned about Ren’s gift. I would give anything to be able to face my father myself, without a middleman. Again, no offense to you, Ren, and many thanks are in order.”

“None taken.” Ren reassured. Yusuke sighed and wiped an eye. 

“The same goes for me.” he admitted. “It’s why I asked Mifune-san in the first place if there was a way for a person to obtain the blessing later in life, but alas... I am forced to rely on Ren.” He shook his head. “Not just that. It’s going to give you a brand new perspective, a view of a world unseen by most. It would have been a marvel to record in my art, but I am not lucky enough to have the greatest gift a person can have.”

Akechi was silent for a moment before scoffing and looking up at the others who hadn’t spoken yet. “I don’t suppose any of you are going to say you want to see ghosts, too.”

Ryuji shrugged. “I mean... I don’t got any dead people in my life like they do, but... yeah. I’d still like to, if it was possible.”

Ren’s eyes widened as he turned to gape at Ryuji. “Say what?”

“I’m serious, man.” Ryuji smiled. “I mean... you help people with it. Plus, you’re my best friend. I wouldn’t mind seein’ ghosts if it meant I could support you by walkin’ a mile in your shoes.“

“I feel the same way as Ryuji, honestly.” Ann agreed. Her eyes darkened. “Also... Shiho...” Her voice cracked. “What if she hadn’t made it? I would be reliant on Ren for communicating with her just like they are. I would be grateful, but...” She sighed and nodded. “Anyways, yeah. If I could, I would.”

“And me, too.” Morgana agreed. He laughed. “Ren’s my partner, and if everyone else is doing it... what sort of thief would I be to pass up such a useful tool?”

“So, yeah...” Futaba shrugged. “We’re all sort of envious.”

Akechi sighed wearily and shook his head.“Whatever. At least I can ask my mother why she killed herself and abandoned me.”

The others shared a look. Ren shrugged. “I don’t know. She seems guilty and cares a lot about you.”

Akechi scoffed. “What, out of guilt? It’s too late for that. I don’t care.”

Futaba hummed anxiously and clutched her toes. Her voice quieted and became gentler. “Did your mom seem... sick? Like, depressed?”

Akechi paused and nodded. “Yes. There were days she couldn’t get out of bed, and days where she would cry for seemingly no reason. She apologized to me all the time, but as a kid, I didn’t get it.” He exhaled sharply. “Then one day... she...” He scowled. “Not that I care. What difference does it make?”

A sympathetic look came across Futaba’s face. She shrugged. “Often, people who commit suicide are very sick.” she explained. “Your brain chemistry can be extremely out of whack, and it can severely impair judgement.” She gave him a grim look. “Not all, but the majority people who die of suicide have some sort of mood disorder. As an example in depression’s case, this can cause the victim to have an abnormal distribution of GABA across neural receptors; GABA’s job is to inhibit neuron activity. Think of it like the brakes on a car.”

“And if you don’t have working brakes, how do you intend to stop the car from crashing?” Makoto agreed. Futaba sighed and looked down with a shake of the head.

“The tragic thing is that mental illness is discounted as a mere weakness when it’s just as serious as any life-threatening physical problem. I personally got told by way too many people to just ‘feel better’ and ‘snap out of it’ as if I could. I think of suicide as— most of the time, anyways— the tragic end result of an illness or terrible social circumstances that the victim couldn’t or felt they couldn’t get help with. I know I would have eventually died if the Phantom Thieves hadn’t saved me. I wouldn’t be surprised if your mom had a Palace of her own.”

Makoto sighed and clasped her hands together. “If your mother was extremely depressed and struggling financially as a single mother when single mothers are scorned in society... well, there was a lot of unfortunate social circumstances that exacerbated the situation.” She scratched the back of her head. “So... while it’s completely understandable that you’re mad, Akechi-kun, bear in mind this may be the tragic end result of a lot of horrible, unmitigated circumstances.”

Ren nodded. “We can’t tell either of you how you should feel or move forward from here, but holding onto guilt and anger probably isn’t going to get either of you anywhere.”

Goro looked down quietly with a distressed look in his eyes. Futaba gave him a sympathetic frown. “I know. This sucks for everyone involved; it’s completely understandable that you’re upset and angry, but... try to look at it from her point of view. By no means do you have to forgive her, but it would be good to talk it out and figure out how you both want to move forward from here.”

He looked down quietly for a moment before he heaved a sigh and looked up at Ren. “I don’t—”

“Goro?”

Ren jumped a bit and Goro yelped as his mother appeared out of thin air. He gasped and clutched his chest. “Jesus Christ!”

“Get used to that.” Ren huffed, steadying his breathing. He nodded at Ayumu. “Akechi-san. Welcome back.”

Ayumu nodded back and looked at her still-bewildered son. “They’re all very mad, but I managed to speak up on your defense. I think they listened to my pleas. They haven’t decided yet how they want to punish you.”

Akechi scoffed. “If I offed myself, would that satisfy them? Because I’ll do it. You did, didn’t you?”

Ren and Wakaba cringed and Ayumu looked as though she was going to cry if she could have.

“Can we speak privately?” Ayumu finally requested, her voice cracking. “Please?”

Ren told the group. In awkward silence, they all headed downstairs, leaving Akechi and his mother alone.

“Goro—” she tried to start, but her son cut her off with a bitter look.

“Why?” he snapped, tears welling in his eyes. “Why did you abandon me?”

The ghost looked pained. She hung her head. “I’m sorry, Goro. I’m so sorry. It was because was weak. All I could think about was what a bad mother I was amidst trying to feel _anything_ beyond pain and exhaustion. It was like I was in a void; I had tunnel vision. Eventually, I began to become delusional. I convinced myself that I was ruining your life, that you deserved better than me. That I’d be doing the world a service if I died.” She looked up miserably. “As soon as the deed was done, and I was staring at my corpse... all my sense returned to me. The veil lifted, and I realized what a terrible mistake I had made.” She hugged herself and sighed. “I’ve been by your side ever since. I thought the pain and anger I saw was my punishment for what I did. I can’t condone what you did, but I feel responsible for all of those deaths— you lost your way partially because of me. You don’t have to forgive me.”

Goro stared at her in silence for a long time. Tears rolled down his face as he shuddered and sniffled. His face ran through several emotions at once— anger, despair, and... a touch of sympathy.

“You’re right,” he finally croaked, “I can’t forgive you right now; I’ve been through too much pain to forgive you. But I believe you when you tell me you weren’t in your right mind... and... I don’t hate you.”  He grit his teeth. A bitter look was in his eyes. “It’s because of Shido, isn’t it? He drove you to this, didn’t he?”

Ayumu’s eyes hardened as she nodded stiffly. “He... was a very different person, when we were dating... he’d act very charming and shower me with gifts. Other times behind closed doors, he did or said possessive or abusive things, but I shrugged it off when he would tell me later it was all because he loved me. And I would believe him. He told me I would die without him.” She looked away. “Eventually... I got pregnant. He threw a fit. Beat me. Left me. My family kicked me out for getting pregnant before marriage.” She scowled and shook her head. “He abandoned us. I gave birth alone and worked as a single mother to try to support you, but we were always poor. I had no support. None. Society hates single mothers.” Ayumu shook her head. “I made terrible mistakes, but Shido...”

Akechi scoffed. “Sounds like him. He wears different masks depending on who he’s with and his mood.” He scowled. “What a piece of shit...”

“Don’t kill him,” Ayumu warned sternly, “help the thieves. Imagine how much he’ll suffer when he’s forced to feel remorse for everything and rots in jail for the rest of his life. That’s far more painful than a swift death.”

Akechi chuckled and grinned. “I like the way you think. I won’t kill him. No; that would be too easy.” His eyes narrowed. “I don’t know how I feel about you yet, but it seems I’ll have time to figure that out...” He winced. “Considering I am now cursed to see the dead. Lucky me.” He sighed. “I hope those ghosts just want some shit like me going to jail. That’d be easy.”

His mother made a face, to which Akechi just rolled his eyes. He stood up and met his mother’s gaze with his true unmasked, calculating eyes. “Let’s go. We still have a lot to do.”

The two headed downstairs. The others were waiting and cast him strange looks, as if they were unsure of what to say. Sojiro refused to so much as look at Akechi or acknowledge his presence. Wakaba waved from where she stood beside her daughter, to which Ayumu waved back.

“Let’s get down to business.” Akechi said firmly, looking to Ren. The boy nodded and stood up.

“Right.” He cleared his throat and looked over the room. “Okay. We’ve secured our route to the treasure. We should spend a day to resupply and maintain our weapons, and Futaba has something in mind for the calling card. We have to do it theatrically to get Shido’s attention, so she’s putting together a video naming all of Shido’s associates. We’ll comply with whatever she needs us to do in it.” He looked at Futaba from where she sat in a booth. “Do you have an estimate of when the calling card will be ready?”

Futaba smiled. “I already have most of it prepared. There’s some things we need to add, so I’ll need all of you to show up so I can finish it. Should be ready for deployment the day after tomorrow.”

“Then that’s when we’ll send the calling card.” Ren decreed. Makoto raised a hand.

“We have to act immediately after we send it.” she said, dead serious. “As soon as it’s aired, they will know that you’re alive. We will be putting our backs to the wall. There cannot be any delay.”

“I know.” Ren affirmed calmly. He looked over the room. “Any objections or concerns?”

No one spoke. Ren looked as though he was going to say more when Kunikazu and Genkei appeared out of thin air. Ren jolted and Akechi shouted and recoiled back at the sudden entrants.

“FUCK!” He clasped his chest. He scowled as everyone began to snicker at him. “What the _hell?!_ Does this happen to you, Amamiya?”

Ren grinned. “Welcome to Hell; enjoy your stay!” He looked at the men, who were focused on Akechi with smug looks that Akechi didn’t like. “I take it a decision has been made?”

“Yes. Sort of.” Kunikazu confirmed. “Tell him, Niijima-san.”

Genkei nodded. “It’d be my pleasure. Provided you don’t get arrested... and there’s a good chance you will... Akechi, you’re going to help each and every ghost you killed with whatever personal tasks they have move on.” Akechi blanched as the man nodded. “That’s right: every. Single. One. And they’re going to haunt you day and night until they’re free, starting after Shido’s arrest.”

Kunikazu chuckled. “We were bouncing the idea of having you just turn yourself in... but your mother convinced us to have mercy, because you DID almost sacrifice yourself for our kids earlier today.” He paused. “We’ll probably ask you to turn yourself in after all of this, too, by the way. We’ll haunt you for the rest of your life if you try to escape by going to jail immediately.”

Wakaba looked pleased. Ayumu smiled nervously at her son and Ren covered his mouth. He shook, struggling to hold back his laughter at Akechi’s white face and helpless gape. 

“You can’t leave us in the dark!” Morgana urged from his stool as he stood up straight. “Tell us what happened!”

Ren looked over the others and shared what happened. All of them, including Sojiro, smirked just as smugly as the ghosts, particularly Futaba and Haru. Ryuji openly cackled.

“Oh, man, Akechi, you’re gonna HATE that! How many people did you even kill?!”

“A lot.” Futaba deadpanned. She laughed and wagged a finger at him. “It’ll take _years_ to handle all of their emotional baggage and unresolved problems. Have fun!”

“Thank God,” Ren sighed in relief, “that was gonna be my job. Not my problem anymore!”

Akechi turned on his heel and headed into the bathroom. The door closed, and after a moment, they could hear muffled screaming.


	44. Shipwreck

* * *

People of Tokyo bustled about in the cold December night along the streets. The Phantom Thieves incident was practically a distant memory in the short memories of the public as a massive television on the side of a skyscraper showed an anchor talking about the end of the Phantom Thieves. Hardly anyone looked up or cared.

The sound of static and the channel cutting out buzzed in the ears of the crowd. Eyes went up and people stopped walking just as the insignia of the Phantom Thieves came on the screen.

“Yo! What is UP, everybody?!”

A crowd amassed almost instantly as the calling card went on. Phones were held aloft as people filmed the spectacle of the Phantom Thieves announcing their leader’s survival with the lineup of the Thieves— nine silhouettes. 

For a moment, the screen went blank, but Futaba quickly overrode it and turned the screen back on just in time to name their main target: Masayoshi Shido.

Scandalized gasps filled the streets as the Thieves detailed his crimes. 

“... We’re not gonna sit back and watch him wreck this country all for his goddamn ego,” the silhouette of Skull decreed as he turned to a shadowy figure beside him, “ain’t that right, Leader?”

The leader stepped forward. His mask, the locks of his bangs overhanging the mask, and his eyes were visible.

“Yes,” he declared, “before that happens, we will take this country.” Cheers filled the streets as he continued speaking. “Shido won’t be the only one we steal the heart of tonight. We will, in one night, take the hearts of all of his closest confidants. All will confess their crimes with their own mouths. Allow us to list their names...”

A rolling screen appeared with the names of all of their targets while the crowd watched in rapt curiosity as scandalized and intrigued gasps filled the air. 

Some were well-known celebrities and public figures. Others were the rich and powerful, and some were unknown but part of the conspiracy in smaller ways, such as personal doctors, judges, and lawyers.

Shido was shaking with rage as he stared down at his phone, watching the calling card in silence while those around him ran to and fro in sheer panic for their hearts.

The ghosts were busy, too, chasing after their targets to keep tabs on them. All of them were jittery with excitement and anticipation. Okumura and Itachi stared down at Shido, their arms crossed as they were unseen. 

“He betrayed us.” an oblivious Shido snarled. “I knew that brat would end up betraying us... so be it. I will crush them under my heel!”

The two ghosts smiled smugly.

* * *

Sojiro was smoking a cigarette and watching the news discussing the calling card when a small army of officers barged into the cafe. He didn’t look up as the bell jingled and their footsteps came, but he could feel a cold breeze impatiently tapping his wrist.

“I know, I know.” he whispered to the unseen Wakaba. His voice raised to calm, almost insulting neutrality. “Welcome.” 

“Search the place.” he heard the officer in charge bark. Sojiro put his cigarette out and continued to sit, watching the TV as the officers proceeded to practically pull apart his cafe to look for clues. He could feel the air growing cold and unsettling, but didn’t react. The man in charge approached him, his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. “You’re Sojiro Sakura, correct?”

Sojiro looked up at him with disinterest. “Hm? Who the hell’re you?”

“Where is he?” the officer demanded. Sojiro sighed and looked over his cafe, at the busy officers.

“This is obstruction of business, you know...”

“Sir!” an officer cried as he ran downstairs and to his commander. “They’re not upstairs!”

The man in charge grabbed Sojiro by his shirt and pulled him forward, but Sojiro was calm as ever. “Where is he?” the man demanded. In spite of his biting demand, Sojiro could see that he was unsettled by the atmosphere in the cafe. 

“If you’re not going to buy anything, I’m gonna have to ask you to leave.”

The man suddenly jerked back and let go of Sojiro. He recoiled and shuddered as he glared at him. “I don’t know what your kid with freaky powers is doing, but I won’t stand for it!” He turned to his men. “He’s an accomplice! Take him away!”

As they cuffed the unyielding Sojiro, he could feel something cold engulf one of his hands.

In spite of the chill, he found it reassuring enough to remain defiant in the face of danger.

* * *

Sae played ignorant when the head of police came to confront her.

“You were the last one to talk to him!” he barked. Sae scratched the side of her head.

“Again, I really don’t know what you’re referring to. Oh, but I did receive a calling card awhile ago, but everything after that is a blur...” She paused. “Did... I do something wrong?”

“No... did they get her, too?!” one of the chief’s lackeys cried as Sae moaned and clutched her head. The chief grit his teeth.

“Goddamn it... the thieves are even more powerful than we thought. God only knows what they did to her mind, but it doesn’t matter now.” He glared at her. “You’re coming with me!”

The woman gave him a baffled look. “What? Why me?”

“Someone is responsible for his escape, and by God, we’re going to figure out who did it. Blame your boss’s stroke for putting you in this position!”

The prosecutor’s eyes narrowed. “Do you really think a stroke is what killed him?” Her tone was accusatory, which made the man bristle. Sae could feel her father pat her shoulder. Her eyes widened, and she put a hand over the side of her head again. “... What were we talking about?”

“Just come with me,” the man barked impatiently, “there’s going to be hell to pay!”

As she was surrounded by a few of his lackeys, she followed him with a dazed look in her eyes. Anxiety was rising in her before she felt what she knew to be her father’s hand clamp around hers. The woman smiled softly to herself. 

“Thanks, Dad.” she whispered. “It’s up to you, now, everyone.”  


* * *

The Thieves could feel red hot anger in the air as soon as they stepped into the Palace. The boat was rocking a bit, causing them to briefly stumble as they made a beeline for the treasure.

There was surprisingly little resistance on the route to the treasure. The Shadows they passed were panicking and huddled in circles to stare with great terror in their eyes at the Thieves. They could all hear their whispers as they proceeded.

_ Captain Shido will save us.  _

_ Captain Shido will stop them.  _

_ No one can sink Captain Shido. _

Some were convinced and calm, while others repeated the mantra in a desperate attempt to convince themselves that everything would be okay. 

“Fools.” Crow sneered as they reached the elevator to the assembly room. They soon found themselves in the room with the large daruma curtains behind a tall podium that Shadow Shido was standing on. He looked at all of them with distaste as they approached. Above them, Mona could see something shining brightly— no doubt the Treasure.

“Akechi,” Shido snarled as his eyes landed on him, “I should have guessed you were going to betray me at some point.”

The boy scoffed. “Did you actually think I committed those murders for the sake of helping you?”

“Oh, but you did,” Shido mocked with a grin as he gripped the sides of the podium, “I could see it in your eyes. You soaked up the praise I offered. You craved approval, no matter how much you hated me. Just like your mother.”

The group stiffened. Crow scowled. “So you know, then.”

“The family name was a dead giveaway, and you look just like her.” Shido deadpanned. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice? I was already getting bored of her when she got pregnant.”  He scowled. “At the time, I was furious. How could she burden me with a child? So I did what I had to.” Crow was shaking, his fists clenched. “At least she— unintentionally, at least— provided me with a useful tool, years later. One I’m ready to dispose of.”

Crow reached for his gun, but stopped as Joker patted his shoulder. Joker shook his head and stepped forward while Crow seethed. “Fuck this,” he hissed, “let’s just beat the shit out of him and take the Treasure already!”

“I can’t believe he actually said somethin’ I agree with!” Skull muttered under his breath. He glared up at Shido. “You’re gonna answer for everythin’ you did!”

“We’re taking the treasure, you fascist piece of shit.” Joker snapped.

Shido laughed mockingly. “Such fire from an impertinent brat! You look vaguely familiar, I admit, but you’re nothing more than one of the ants that had to be crushed in the road.”

“How can you say that?!” Panther cried in dismay. “People’s lives mean nothing to you!”

“It is all for the greater good,” Shido retorted with a shrug, “a small leak will sink a great ship. This is the duty entrusted to me, the chosen of God.”

“He’s insane.” Fox remarked bluntly. He clenched his fists. “We cannot allow this to go on. You are a disgrace to Japan.” He moved into a fighting stance. “Hence, we will be taking your deranged heart!”

Shido laughed and held his hands out. “I am merely giving the ignorant masses what they wish for. I will lead this country out of the shambles it is in and into the glory it deserves... no matter the cost!”

Cognitions of assemblymen appeared, startling everyone as they stood up and clapped vigorously. The sound of applause was almost deafening as they looked around themselves in dismay. Above the podium, the blank eye of the daruma filled in. As the crowd and Shido vanished, tremors were felt and heard as platforms from the walls began closing in and destroyed the hall. Loud, unpleasant screeching of floor against floor, of destruction, replaced the applause.

After the group’s momentary terror and alarmed cries, Fox moved first, leaping upward onto the closest platform. He looked toward the others and nodded upward before hopping to the next platform. Joker quickly followed and jumped up, followed by the others. 

The creaking red and white wooden floors they had landed on came to a close with a resounding thud. They scarcely had a second to inspect the arena of sorts when Shido’s stern voice came.

“Let me make myself clear.” he snapped as Joker’s head snapped in his direction. A dark red, smokey aura was surrounding him as he stepped up to the top of a massive golden lion built of the figures countless human bodies, all reaching up desperately for the seat of the beast. “Do not think of me weak and brash as my idiot son.”

Crow shook his head and laughed. “We’ll see who the weak one truly is.”

The aura faded as Shido took his spot and turned. Joker wasn’t sure how to describe the ostentatious outfit he now bore— a cape, a white mask covering the top of his head, with long spikes pointing out along the brim. A crown for a tyrant.

“Die, without further delay.”

Skull jerked a thumb in the direction of Joker. “Our leader’s gone through shit ‘cuz of you!” He pointed a finger at Shido with a glare. “It’s on!”

* * *

The ignorant masses Shido had relied upon put up a fight, but in the end, they fell and vanished into smoke as Shido’s Shadow stared back at where they had been, his arms crossed. “Worthless, ignorant masses!”

“Oh, sure, when you lose, it’s their fault, but if you had won, it’d all be you, right?” Joker mocked. “Where’s your supporters? Aren’t they going to defend the man whose desires are tied to theirs?”

Shido scoffed and walked forward. “Don’t mouth off at me, brat. My allies know I can topple you myself. They believe in my strength. They see me for the Chosen of God that I am.”

Noir grimaced. “What an awful man you are... I look forward to making you feel the pain your wrought on us!”

The Shadow looked as though he was going to say something when he paused as he looked Joker over. His lips twitched. “You... you’re more than just the one leading them... aren’t you?”

Joker pulled his mask off and glared at him. “Long time no see.”

Skull grinned. “This ain’t the first time you failed to finish this guy off!”

Shido’s eyes narrowed as he stared, hard, at Joker. “Hm...” His eyes widened with recognition. “Wait... can you be...? The brat that stood against me when I was with that woman!”

“A touching reunion, isn’t it?” Panther snarled. Fox scowled.

“The next time you intend to crush a foe, I suggest you be more thorough.”

“Not that there’ll be a next time for you!” Skull added. 

Shido blinked, then laughed with an odd grin. “So I see... it truly is you. What a turn of fate! But it’s all for naught. I should have made sure to crush you back then.”

“Just like we’re going to do to you now.” Crow sneered. “We’re going to make you suffer a fate worse than death!”

* * *

Shido eventually turned into a bright red, muscle-bound freak with what Joker would later dub “weirdly BDSM-like gear” overlaying his torso. The fight was a bitch and a half— several times, party members had been knocked out, necessitating samarecarms and spending SP to the point that the team was practically chugging coffee in-between attacks. Joker could already imagine it was going to wreck havoc on their guts later, but with few other choices, they kept going.

When Panther charged him with her magic, and Oracle buffed them, Joker was exhausted, angry, and done with the fight. Fury is what spurred him on, alongside Crow, who was relentless and screaming curses the entire fight.

“SATAN!” Joker cried, summoning the Persona. Under Shido rose a massive head of a black viper, which landed a devastating hit. Shido stumbled and almost collapsed when a fire rose in his eyes. The Shadow gave a roar of outrage and slammed his fists on the ground. The impact caused floorboards to rise up and knocked back the team, sans for Joker, who had hunkered down just in time to stand up and find himself walled into a mini arena with a very powerful, angry Shadow.

He could hear his team’s cries and Crow’s loud cursing behind him, but Joker couldn’t focus on anything but the magic rising in the fiery, glowing Shido in front of him.

Just as the Shadow was about to strike him with the strongest Zio move he had ever seen, Joker screamed.

_ “ARSENE!” _

His Persona appeared and threw up a magic shield at his true self’s behest. The shield appeared just as the lightning bolt was about to strike. With a resounding, deafening crack, it bounced back on Shido. The last thing Joker heard was a loud scream and an explosion before blacking out.

His eyes fluttered open what felt like a mere second later to see his entire team standing over him, staring at him with wide, alarmed eyes. Even Crow looked a bit worried. 

Joker groaned and sat up, clutching the back of his head. “Ow... what happened?”

“Shido cast a very powerful spell that you managed to repel at the last second.” Mona explained. “You both got knocked back by the resulting explosion. Looks like my magic was enough to bring you back intact, thankfully.”

Joker winced. “Thanks.” He lowered his hand and began pushing himself up. With some help from Queen and Skull, he was standing. Eyes flew to Shadow Shido, who had transformed back into his real-world looking self. He was battered and bruised and panting weakly on hands and knees.

They approached the Shadow, who looked up wearily at them. Defeat was in his eyes, and tears were dripping down his face.

“So... I’ve lost... ha...” He looked at Crow. “Goro... son... I’m so sorry...”

Crow kicked him in the gut. The shadow coughed and groaned as Crow scowled down at him. “Don’t call me ‘son’... you are not my father. You have never been my father, and never will be. I hope you rot in Hell.” 

“... I deserve that.” Shido wheezed. Skull prodded him with a foot.

“Don’t you got somethin’ to say to our leader before you go passin’ out?”

Shido nodded and looked up. “I... acknowledge I incriminated you... on false charges. I was... trying to protect myself.”

“Give us a name,” Crow barked, “who was that woman?”

“I—”

“Tell us!” Crow demanded. Shido coughed and sobbed.

“Sato! Hatsu Sato!” 

“Good. We can find her and get her to confess.” Mona snapped. He looked as though he was going to say something else when they heard a sparkling noise, and looked up to see a wheel of a ship floating down from above. 

“If not me, then who else will steer the ship...?” Shido bemoaned. Joker shrugged and reached for the Treasure.

“Listen, a turd pile would be a better leader than you, or any of the—”

Shido gave a loud groan and disappeared, leaving the team to gape at where he had been. They yelped as loud crashing and crumbling came and the ground began to shake as rubble began to collapse.

“What the hell?!” Skull cried. “But—”

“Something might have happened to Shido in the real world!” Mona cried. “We have to run!”

* * *

They barely managed to escape the flooding hallways to get to the exterior of the ship. The group could hear screams and wails of Shadows and cognitions alike— the cognitions jumped overboard while the Shadows remained where they were, bawling their eyes out.

Oracle gave a cry and covered her ears as they stood, slanted on the ship. “We’re gonna die! I don’t know how to swim!”

“I see a lifeboat!” Queen yelled and pointed. They followed her lead to the edge of the water to see that the life boat was on the other half of the sinking ship, high up and practically unreachable.

“It’s no use! We’ll never make it in time!” Fox bemoaned. Skull’s eyes fixed on the lifeboat, on the path below him, and the ladder leading up to the switch. He closed his eyes, took a breath, and stared intently at the switch.

“I got this.”

Panther gave him a baffled look. “Huh?”

“Hang tight,” he said firmly, putting his mask on his head, “I’ll grab the boat!”

Ignoring the worried cries of the team, Skull launched himself forward, crouched in a starting position, and took off. He leaped across a large gap full of water and barely landed on the other side, where he proceeded to sprint up the very steep incline. He could hear Fox call his name and Panther scream at him to go, combined with “RUN, BITCH, RUN!” from Crow. 

He leaped up near the top and reached the switch. His weight pulled it down, and the lift the boat was on turned and began to lower as the team cheered ecstatically. 

“Hang on!” he heard Joker cry after they all hurried onboard. The boat began to move, with all the team looking up at him as he hung on. Though his arms were growing numb and his legs were sore, Ryuji managed a smile until he felt a rush of heat and heard an explosion that made him black out.

Ryuji groaned as he woke up to stare at a night sky above, everything aching. He looked around himself to find that he had landed on the lawn in front of the Diet Building. Nearby, he could hear sobbing and Ann’s voice in particular.

“Ren, what do you MEAN you can’t see him?!”

“I mean I don’t see him!”

“Akechi?!”

“I don’t see him either!”

“What if he died but he’s stuck in the Metaverse or something?!”

Ryuji groaned and picked himself up. He rolled a shoulder and made his way to the team, who stopped short to gape at him as he sighed heavily.

“Maaan, that was close.” he groaned. “Why do Palaces gotta explode so much? Can’t they disappear normally?” As the team quieted and stared at him, he gave them a baffled look. “What?”

They continued to stare. Ren blinked. “You all— see him, too, right?”

Nods came as Ren stepped forward and patted Ryuji’s shoulders to affirm he was still solid. The boy let out a deep, relieved breath and wrapped his arms around Ryuji, who blinked.

“Uh...” He awkwardly hugged him back. “What’s with that reaction?”

Ann ran forward next and threw her arms around him, followed by the other teammates. Ryuji almost couldn’t breathe.

“We thought you died,” Haru breathed, “but you’re still alive!”

As they pulled back, Ryuji was tearing up and smiling tiredly. He wiped an eye. “I... I am. I just... woke up on the grass...” He sighed. “I’m okay, guys. I’m okay.”

“Thank goodness for that.” Yusuke praised, relieved. “Now, come. Let’s go get something to eat before we go home.”

“I want sautéed fois gras!” Futaba giggled and sniffled as she wiped at an eye. Makoto laughed.

“We’re in reality, you know...”

“Sushi?” Morgana asked hopefully. Ren looked as though he was going to say something when Kunikazu appeared, making him jump and give a tired gasp. Akechi shrieked and reddened immensely as the others snickered at him.

“Jesus Christ!” Akechi grumbled. He and Ren focused on the ghost. “What is it?”

“Well, hello to you, too.” Kunikazu said dryly. 

“It’s your dad, Haru.” Ren clarified. The girl smiled.

“We did it, Father!... I think. Something weird happened to his Shadow.”

Okumura nodded. “The fool tried to temporarily kill himself to collapse the Palace on you. I’m relieved to see you made it out safely.”

“More or less.” Ren said, side-eying Ryuji. He cleared his throat. “So is Shido alive?”

The ghost grinned. “Yes. You should have seen it; he woke up and started crying, but no one paid him any attention, because everyone else in the room and maybe the entire building was crying! It. Was. Beautiful.”

Ren and Akechi grinned and shared a look. The team was already smiling at their reaction before they shared the news. Ryuji whooped and pumped a fist. 

“HELL YEAH, it worked!”

“Oh, the internet drama is going to be delicious...!” Futaba said gleefully. “I got to avenge my mom! Everyone...!”

“We did good.” Ren praised. “Good work, everyone, but let’s celebrate later.” He sighed and smiled weakly. “I’m exhausted, and I suspect you all are, too.”

“And hungry.” Futaba complained with a huff. 

“Go to Big Bang Burger. Haru can feed you for free.” Kunikazu said. “Then go get some rest. You’ve all earned it.”

* * *

Leblanc was a mess when they got home, with no Sojiro or Wakaba in sight.

Futaba gave a panicked cry and hurried in. “Sojiro?! Sojiro, this isn’t funny!” She was in tears as she turned to Ren. “What about Mom?! Do you see her?!”

“N—No.” Ren took a breath and held his hands up. “Listen—”

“If he doesn’t see her, then she’s probably with Boss.” Morgana reassured. “If he was dead, they’d have just come back. Boss is still alive.”

Futaba looked only a bit reassured for a moment as she continued to cry. “Then— I have to find him! He—”

Both stopped short as the door jingled. They turned to see Sojiro, a bit battered and bruised but intact, walk into Leblanc, Wakaba closely in tow. The man smiled.

“Hey.”

“YOU’RE JUST AS BAD AS RYUJI!” Futaba cried as she launched herself across the room to wrap her arms around a baffled Sojiro. The man blinked and returned the hug with a confused look.

“What are you talking about...?” He shook his head. “I’m okay.”

“What happened?” Ren questioned. Sojiro shrugged as his daughter pulled away.

“Some of Shido’s men tried to abduct me. Had a bag over my head the whole time so I couldn’t see where I was going, but they stopped at one point because the leader started crying and said I was free to go. Even gave me train fare.” He smiled proudly. “Not that I was scared at any point. Wakaba was with me the entire time.”

Both he and Futaba looked expectantly at Ren, who smiled gratefully at Wakaba. She laughed. “What would he have done without me? I shudder at the thought!”

Ren’s nose wrinkled, and he snickered. Sojiro shook his head. “She said something snarky, didn’t she?”

“Yeah, just a bit.”

Wakaba walked through Sojiro, who shuddered and gave the direction he assumed she was in a withering look as she knelt down to kiss her daughter’s forehead, and then Ren’s. Both kids shuddered and rubbed at their heads, but smiled.

“I’m proud of you. All of you.” Wakaba whispered. Ren smiled wearily.

“Thanks, Isshiki-san...”

* * *

After helping Sojiro clean up shop, Ren had promptly collapsed in bed with Morgana, who moaned with exhaustion.

“What a day!” the cat exclaimed. Ren ran a hand over his face.

“No kidding.”

His phone buzzed. The boy picked it up to read, with a yawn as he rubbed an eye, his friends’ updated.

_**Makoto:** Sis is home safe. She said that the man interrogating her burst into tears abruptly and let her go.  _

_**Futaba:** There’s a bunch of powerful people online posting apologies. The drama is delicious. _

_**Ryuji:** popcorn pls _

_**Yusuke:** Has Shido said anything yet? _

_**Futaba:** No, but it’s only a matter of time until he does.  _

_**Futaba:** I have a lot of feelings and things I want to say, but... I’m tired.  _

_**Haru:** I agree. We can talk tomorrow. _

__**Akechi:**_ Something is wrong. _

_**Ryuji:** ? _

_**Akechi:** I looked online. The public reactions are... lacking.  _

_**Akechi:** There should be a massive angry mob descending on the Diet Building and courthouse. And yet, there’s minimal outrage. Little coverage of the pandemonium going on. _

Ren frowned.

_**Ren:** That’s weird. _

_**Ann:** Maybe everyone’s just in a state of shock?  _

_**Ryuji:** Yeah. That has to be it. _

_**Makoto:** We should talk tomorrow about it. _

_**Ren:** Right. Good work, everyone. _

He and Morgana shared nervous looks. “This... is really weird.” the cat murmured. “I hope Lady Ann is right...”

“We’ll see.” Ren sighed. “For now... let’s—”

His phone buzzed again, and the boy’s face scrunched up as he groaned loudly. He looked at his phone to see messages from Mishima.

_**Mishima:** That was the coolest thing I have ever seen! I can see a bunch of powerful people posting apologies online; I had no idea that you were targeting Shido, but in retrospect, I can see that he was the guy in charge of the murders! And you changed his and his cronies’ hearts!_

_**Mishima:** You did it! I don’t know how you did it, but you did it!  _

_**Mishima:** The Phansite is weirdly quiet right now, but I’m sure there’s going to be a massive rebound very soon once the shock wears off. _

_**Ren:** thank you mishima but i am like five seconds from passing out  _

_**Mishima:** Oh, sorry. I should have guessed you’d be exhausted. _

_**Mishima:** Get some rest. You’ve earned it. _

Ren was already asleep by the time the last message arrived, with Morgana falling asleep not long after. 

Wakaba appeared and stared down in silence at the boy with a look of consternation. Soon, Genkei appeared and approached the bed as well. He shared looks with Wakaba.

“He’s okay?” he whispered worriedly.

She nodded and put a hand on her cheek. “Yes, but...”

“Something is wrong.” Genkei muttered. “There should be major public backlash, protests, pandemonium and demands for arrests, but... Tokyo is still eerily calm. What’s going on?”

Wakaba shook her head and reached out to stroke the boy’s hair. She stopped midway and pulled her arm back with a quiet sigh.

“I don’t know,” she whispered back, “but for now, let them all rest. They need it for whatever is coming.”


	45. The Last Confession

Shido gave a grand public apology as soon as the tally was in for the election. He had won by a landslide, and in lieu of an acceptance speech, Shido stood in front of a screen and, in a guilty, defeated tone, confessed his sins— all of them, in detail. No aides stood with him to stop him or react as he went on.

The public reaction was lackluster. It scared the team at the lack of reaction— it was almost as though nothing had happened at all. No crimes had been committed. Everything was fine.

Shido was just sick and confused from the stress of the election, his supporters reasoned. He’d get some rest and everything would be back to normal. If there was really an issue with the other people that confessed, he’d handle them. No need to be worried. No need to panic. Everything was fine.

It disturbed all of the Phantom Thieves, their supporters, and the ghosts of the city, even the ones that weren’t involved in the Shido case. A bemused Chihaya had told Ren that it was a subject of gossip among the ghosts of the city, who sneered at the idiocy of the living. 

Ren wasn’t sure what to do. No one was sure. Even Genkei and Wakaba seemed bewildered by the public response.

“I don’t get it,” Mishima had griped in a call to Ren, “the Phansite is practically dead. No one’s acknowledging that the Phantom Thieves unveiled a massive criminal conspiracy or the basic fact that Shido is guilty of mass murder. What the hell?”

In spite of their confusion, they threw a party in Leblanc anyways the day of the election.

“Everyone!” Sojiro started, raising a glass. He stood beside the booths full of Thieves and beside Sae as he began. “Allow me to just start by saying a few words—”

“He’s started taking charge.” Futaba muttered. Makoto giggled from where she sat by Ren.

“Come, now.” she scolded lightly. “Don’t be like that.”

Wakaba, by Sojiro, rolled her eyes and Genkei, beside Sae, chuckled. Okumura was silent by his daughter. 

Wakaba patted Sojiro’s shoulder. The man flinched and rubbed his shoulder ruefully. “Oh, come on, I don’t have a LONG speech prepared, I just—”

“I got to avenge my mom.” Futaba sniffled. “Thank you... everyone... Mom... I’m going to miss you...”

Wakaba sighed and moved to kiss her daughter’s head. “I love you, Futaba.”

“That reminds me,” Akechi finally spoke up, leaning back in his seat, “Isshiki, why haven’t you moved on yet? Could it be that you notice the public reaction, too?”

The woman sighed and nodded. “Yes, but let them celebrate. We’ll deal with that later.”

Ren spoke up on her behalf. The room deflated a bit; Ryuji bit his lip and spoke up.

“H—Hey... we still did somethin’ important, yeah? We SHOULD celebrate anyways. We earned it!”

“He’s right.” Sojiro agreed. “Just take it easy and—”

“Cheers!” Ryuji cut him off eagerly. The room chorused ‘cheers!’ while Sojiro’s startled protests fell on deaf ears.

“Cheers.” Sae said wryly, raising a glass. She sighed. “You’ve all done your part; let us do ours. I should hopefully be able to pursue prosecution with ease, given the sheer amount of testimony.” She side eyed Akechi. “I can’t say I’m pleased he’s here. At all. But technically, I don’t need his or any of your testimonies. We have so many witnesses and people turning themselves in that we’re drowning in evidence.”

“How merciful of you.” Goro snarked. Sae glared at him.

“Don’t mistake my intentions. If it wasn’t for the fact that the punishment the ghosts have declared for you was far worse than jail, I would have had you arrested already. You’ll probably still have to go there in the future.” She smirked. “I have faith you won’t be doing any more killing at this rate, at least. Wouldn’t want to increase that workload of yours.”

“Oh, fuck off.” Akechi grumbled and looked away. Ayumu reached over and swatted the back of her son’s ear. He rubbed it and gave her a rueful glare. 

They did their best to enjoy the party in spite of the looming issue. The next day was focused on studying for exams, and the days after, exams themselves. Ren had little trouble on the exams in spite of missing school, and yet again came out at the top of the class. 

However, the public attitude still had yet to change, and he found himself distracted with anxiety over why no one seemed to care. He couldn’t even bring himself to think about the grumbles and glares he got from other students that whispered that he must have cheated to have come out on top again, even after a prolonged absence. 

He prayed that Sae-san was having luck, at the very least, starting her job.

* * *

“I don’t see the issue. I have witnesses, testimony, and evidence. This is an open-and-shut case that needs to be pursued!”

“Calm yourself, Niijima-san.”

Sae bristled as she faced off with the interim head of the SIU, a bored-looking man who regarded her with disinterest. She crossed her arms.

“Sir. We have many people who have been accused of a crime, Shido among them. Famous and beloved or not, he needs to go to court. No one is above the law.”

“This is a waste of time,” the new director dismissed with a wave of the hand, “and we don’t have the resources to pursue the case at this time. So many in our department grew ill all of a sudden that we need to hold off on cases until they recover. Shido is not in his right mind, nor are they; we can’t pursue a fair case under these circumstances.”

Sae scoffed. “Sick? Is that what you really think is wrong with them?”

“Don’t tell me you actually believe they had changes of heart.” he huffed incredulously. “The Thieves don’t even exist. It was just a prank by a bunch of stupid kids.”

“Do you not remember that calling card that came out a week ago?” she demanded. “You know, the one that took over all the television stations in the country?” 

He shrugged. “Just scammers riding on the back of the prank. We really should be pursuing that case for domestic terrorism, not Shido.” At her incredulous gape, he offered a condescending smile. “You’re hysterical, Sae-san. Why not take a sabbatical? Maybe you’ll find yourself a husband while you clear your mind.”

The man chuckled to himself. Sae settled for a glare and turned on her heel, walking out of his office without another word. As soon as she reached her office, she took a seat and began composing a text to Makoto to inform Ren that they needed to gather as soon as possible.

* * *

“Why hasn’t Shido been arrested?!”

“Why is the public ignoring the change of heart?!”

“What do we do?!”

Ren stood back on the roof of the school, bewildered as the ghosts who had been spying for the Thieves gathered and voiced their concerns and complaints. Behind him, the other Phantom Thieves of Shujin, though unable to see the ghosts, were more than capable of sensing the raw panic and dismay before them. All of them were tense and looked to an equally tense, frazzled Ren, who took a sharp breath and gripped the side of his head.

“We’re doing everything we can! I don’t know why the public is acting like this, but—”

“Can’t you change the hearts of the public?!” an upset Kobayakawa cried. Itachi scoffed at him.

“Are you an idiot? I think it’s just in the ignorant public’s nature. People are, by and large, morons.”

Ren frowned. “I don’t— we’ll figure it out! Believe me, I didn’t expect the public to be so deep in denial, either!” He sighed and cupped his cheek. “Changing the hearts of the entire public... in Japan, there’s over 125 million people... we can’t very well—”

“Mementos.” 

Eyes turned to the cat in Ren’s bag, slung over his shoulder. The cat propped himself up on Ren’s shoulder and stared ahead. “That gives me an idea. We’re going to discuss it today and move on it as soon as possible. We might have a way to fix this.”

Ren and the others gave the cat a befuddled look. Murmurs arose amongst the ghosts, until Kunikazu, who had been silent, spoke up.

“I think we should believe Morgana.” he said. “The Thieves haven’t let us down yet, right?”

“Why should we listen to you, murderer?” an older female ghost scoffed. Okumura scowled.

“Don’t listen to me, then. Listen to them.”

A silence fell over the group. Finally, grumbles of reluctant agreement came, and Kunikazu nodded at Ren. “We should meet after school today to discuss this. Gather your team.” 

Ren turned and told the team what was said. Nods came in return, and Makoto lifted her phone up. “Sis says she wants to meet today, too. Looks like we have a lot to discuss today after school...”

* * *

Sojiro closed up shop early as soon as Ren arrived with his friends from Shujin. Futaba had been waiting, and Yusuke and Goro showed up not long after. 

“I should have known this would happen.” Goro hissed as soon as they all sat down, rubbing his eyes. “The public is so weak and so stupid! They believe whatever they want is true if they wish hard enough or ignore reality. They’re all weak-minded animals who can’t think for themselves!”

“We still have to do something.” Ren said firmly. Goro lowered his hand and gave him an exasperated look.

“I know that! But I’m not doing it for them, I’m doing whatever it takes to ensure Shido and his cronies pay for what they did.”

Ayumu rolled her eyes. Wakaba looked as though she was going to say something when the bell above the door jingled. They saw Sae come in, her father closely in tow. Both looked grim. Sojiro sighed, a hand on his hip. “No luck, huh?”

Sae shook her head. “I’m sorry.”

“Idiots.” Genkei snarled. 

His eldest daughter continued speaking. “Not only was I unable to pursue the case... I believe we are all in danger. There are still bad people who were evidently not in Shido’s Palace. There’s a chance that one of them will try to have any or all of us arrested.”

“What?!” Ryuji griped. “All that, for this?!” 

Wakaba shook her head in a panic. “I can’t let anyone put their hands on my kids or Sojiro!”

“Or my daughter.” Kunikazu agreed angrily. 

“Or my daughters.” Genkei snapped. 

“So I came to ask,” Sae continued, “is there... anything you can do? In addition, Isshiki-san, you’re the expert on the Metaverse. Do you have any insight?”

Wakaba hummed to herself and put a hand to her chin. She looked up at Ren. “Mementos... I think I have an idea. It’s everyone’s Palace. If you were to destroy the core of that...”

“Morgana had something similar in mind, I think.” Ren replied. Wakaba lowered her hand and nodded.

“Ask if he had the same idea, then.”

Ren turned to the cat and explained what Wakaba said. The cat nodded. “Right. That’s exactly what I was thinking. Mementos is the Palace of everyone who doesn’t have their own Palace, a Shadow that follows their real self closely, or a Persona proper. That means there’s a treasure at the core that can be stolen or destroyed like any other, thereby destroying Mementos...” He would grimace if he could. “But... Mementos is also the source of all Palaces. If it’s destroyed...”

“We’d be out of business.” Makoto surmised. Morgana nodded.

“Permanently. We lose our ability to change individual hearts. No more Phantom Thieves.”

“Fine,” Goro snapped, “then fuck the Metaverse! If it means putting an end to this...”

“I can’t believe I agree with him.” Genkei grumbled. Goro shot the ghost a stink-eye that Genkei matched with a glare of his own until Goro looked away with a huff.

“Everything Morgana said is correct.” Wakaba agreed. “No more Metaverse. No more Palaces. No more Phantom Thieves. But unless this is done, the public desires will remain distorted, and all of you will be in danger from the Conspiracy.”

Ren shared what she said and explained to Sojiro and Sae what was said. Sojiro grunted.

“So be it.” he said firmly. “If that’s the case, then it needs to be destroyed.”

“I agree.” Kunikazu huffed. “This needs to come to an end.”

Ren stood up and looked over his team. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “We need to do this. For our justice, and everyone held captive by their desires. However, our decisions are always unanimous. Will you all stand together?”

Makoto stood up and nodded briskly. “I will.”

“So will I.” Morgana agreed, standing.

“We have to.” Ann snapped, standing up. “For everyone that’s been hurt!”

“Hell yeah!” Ryuji agreed, a serious look in his eyes. One by one, the Thieves all rose and voiced their agreement. Ryuji nodded at Sae. “Miss Prosecutor... looks like this is gonna be our last job.”

Sae nodded; she looked over the teens seriously. “I know you all will succeed. After that, I’ll put all my energy into prosecuting Shido and other members of the Conspiracy.”

“Can I help in any way?” Sojiro asked the group. Ren shrugged.

“Well, we’re low on coffee, curry, and other items that help with restoring energy in the Metaverse. I was planning on making several batches of both to—”

“I’m on it.” Sojiro said, tightening the back of his apron. “You do whatever else needs to be done and get some rest, all of you— you have a big day tomorrow.”

Ren nodded. “Right. Thanks, Boss.” He turned to his team. “Alright, let’s—”

The bell above the door jingled. All eyes turned to the door just as Sojiro sighed and was preparing to remind the intruder that the sign said “closed” when he saw who it was.

Ren’s parents stood there, wide eyed and worried as the door closed. Ren frowned.

“Mom? Dad? What are you two doing here?”

“Saving you.” his dad replied bluntly. His mom winced.

“Oh... are we interrupting a Phantom Thieves meeting?”

“Yes.” Goro said stiffly, irritated. Both parents did a double take at the sight of him.

“... Aren’t you that teenage detective that’s after the Thieves?” Ren’s dad asked incredulously. Akechi shrugged.

“Perhaps.”

“I...” His mother shook her head. “You know what, we don’t even know anymore.” She turned to her son and the Thieves that were openly hostile and glaring at them. “I know you don’t want to see us, but you’re in terrible danger! The public clearly still supports Shido!” 

“We need to flee the country.” his father agreed. “We prepared a van and gathered our belongings. We were able to get a ticket to—”

“We have a plan to fix this.” Ren said calmly. Both parents froze as he spoke. “We’re carrying it out tomorrow. It should change the entire public’s hearts, if successful. We don’t need to flee. Also, I’m not ditching my team.”

Both blinked.

“Oh.” both of them said dumbly. Ren’s mother groaned and facepalmed.

“We should have asked... I knew we should have asked first before packing up...”

His father cleared his throat. “Well, then. Uh. We’re going to get a hotel room in the city. If you change your mind or need any help, give us a call.”

“Will do.” Ren said, resisting an eyeroll. His mother quickly ran forward, hugged him, planted a kiss on his forehead, and the two were gone with reluctant backward looks. Both paused to give Akechi a befuddled look on the way out. The young man just scoffed at them.

“Why don’t you take a picture?” he grouched. “It’ll last longer.”

“Don’t be rude.” Ren and Ayumu scolded in unison.

Both parents briefly looked scandalized at Akechi, drawing a bark of laughter from him as they retreated in silence. An awkward silence fell over the cafe in the moments after their leave.

“... Well.” Ann said, dumbfounded. “That... just happened.”

For some reason, that made Ren laugh for the first time in days.

* * *

“So,” Futaba murmured, “this is really the end, huh...”

Ren nodded quietly as the girl leaned against him on his couch in the attic; Morgana sat on her lap, and Wakaba stood beside them. Night had fallen, and the room was illuminated by the lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling. The space heater protecting them from the bite of the winter air roared softly in the corner.

The girl was shivering a bit all the same. Ren frowned. “Do you need a blanket?”

“That’s not why I’m shivering.” A sniffle escaped her as she wiped her nose with the back of her hand. “It’s just... I mean... I agree we have to do this. Shido has to be punished, and everyone he hurt deserves justice... and for the ghosts, freedom.” Her breath hitched. “And... I know Mom will finally be free. But...” 

“You’re not ready for her to move on.” Morgana murmured. Wakaba stiffened as Futaba nodded her head against Ren’s chest.

“... I don’t think I’d ever be ready. Not really. Most people are never ready for someone to be gone.” She sighed. “Don’t get me wrong. I know what has to be done. But it’s going to hurt, and I...” She sobbed. “I’ll really miss you, Mom.”

She began to cry softly into Ren’s chest. Ren was quiet, but on the verge of tears himself.

“I don’t want her to go, either.” Ren admitted wearily. Wakaba sighed heavily and brushed the side of her daughter’s face, then Ren’s face.

“I don’t want to leave either of you, either, but the dead can’t linger on Earth forever. But... listen to me.” Ren looked up at her. She would be crying actual tears herself if she was still capable of such a physical act. “This isn’t goodbye forever, and I’ll always be watching over all of you.” She shook her head. “I know you’ll all be okay without me. I’m so proud of all three of you.” She smiled weakly. “That said... I think I’ll probably be around until the gavel falls on Shido. So let’s enjoy what time we have left...”

Ren shared what she said. Morgana’s ears perked up. “All three of us...?”

Wakaba laughed. “Yes, you, too, Morgana. You’ve done a lot of growing in this past year. Regardless of what form you’re in, I’ll always be proud of you.”

As Ren told the cat what she said, Morgana sputtered and sighed forlornly. “Oh, Isshiki-san... thank you. I’m going to miss you, too.”

“And she’s right.” Futaba sniffled as she picked her head up and wiped her eyes. “Th—This isn’t goodbye forever... in the grand scheme of things, what’s... decades...?” She sighed and smiled weakly. “... Let’s do our best tomorrow. After that... we’ll enjoy what time we have left with her.” She looked up at Ren. Her face was red, puffy, and teary, and she gasped softly as she saw Ren’s face. “Ren... you too...”

The boy sniffled and shook his head. “Don’ laugh at me. And don’t tell anyone. I have a rep to maintain.”

Futaba laughed and shook her head. “A rep? What rep? Everyone already knows you’re just a big soft boy under that shell!”

“Lies. I don’t feel a single emotion, ever.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. He stuck his tongue out right back. Morgana rolled his eyes.

“You’re both such children...”

Wakaba laughed. “Yes. My children.”

They giggled a bit longer before Futaba pulled away from him to lift her glasses up and wipe her eyes.

“Thanks for talking.” she said softly. “We should get some rest. We have a big day tomorrow.”

“She’s right.” Morgana agreed sternly. “We don’t know what awaits us at the core of Mementos. We should prepare ourselves as much as we can...” He nodded and smiled. “If we’re together, we face it. For now... let’s go to bed.”


	46. Freedom and Peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y’all for the love of God please stop asking me if Royal content is going to be in this fic, I’ve mentioned several times in author’s notes and comments that Royal content is being saved for a future fic so those who haven’t played Royal will not be spoiled. I’ve had to answer this numerous times in spite of the author notes.

The next day after school, everyone gathered in Leblanc. The severity of the situation could be felt in the air as Sojiro passed packed bags of coffee, curry, and other necessities he had put in (water, bandages, antibiotic cream, the works) to the team. 

Morgana seemed unusually quiet and stared at the floor pensively. Ann had tried to ask him about it, but the cat gently brushed her off with a weak smile and a reassurance he was fine.

“You got everything?” Sojiro asked as Ren and Makoto dutifully organized the team’s belongings while Yusuke and Haru checked all the weapons for any signs of serious damage. Ryuji and Ann lingered, bouncing their feet anxiously. Akechi sat by himself with impatient, crossed arms.

Wakaba, Genkei, Okumura, and Ayumu looked over the kids pensively. “You don’t know what you’re going to find down there,” Wakaba warned, “be cautious.”

“We’ll stay here until you come back.” Ayumu added. “Safe travels.”

“I’m going to stay with Sae until you come back.” Genkei said. “I have faith in you.”

Ren nodded. He turned to his awaiting team and managed a proud smile.

“It’s showtime!”

“It’s been an honor, team.” Morgana agreed, standing up. His tone was serious and loving. “Let’s make this count!”

* * *

It took at least an hour and a half for the team to drive all the way down to the core of Mementos. The entire drive was tense; Joker’s knuckles were white under his gloves as he gripped the wheel tightly until switching off with Queen for the second hour of driving. She bore it well, but he saw the stress in her eyes.

Mementos was, from the start, a creepy place. It grew creepier as they went further down, which was a trend they were already familiar with. It wasn’t just appearances; with bone, darkness, and wailing echoes in the halls, the place was unsettling just at a glance. However, the atmosphere grew heavier, colder, more repressive as they dove deeper into the bowels of Mementos. It reminded all of them of the feeling of an upset ghost; it started low, but grew stronger and more prominent as they moved. 

Something was screaming at them to turn back. All of them wished they could, but they bit their tongues and kept going. 

When they reached the last door that had been sealed off in a dark, ominous cavity of Mementos, it opened at their approach. The sickly red veins running along the walls continued past the door and to a deep, dark hole that funneled them down beyond what they could see. Around them, Shadows stepped off the station platforms and transferred, moving off toward another station to carry them further down.

The group peered down curiously at the seemingly bottomless pit. Skull whistled, and the whistle echoed all the way down. Crow elbowed him, earning a yelp and a glare. 

“Keep it down, idiot,” Crow snapped, “we don’t know what’s down there.”

“I wonder how deep it goes...” Panther wondered as Skull ruefully rubbed his ribs. Oracle hummed nervously and stepped away from the ledge as she grasped the sides of her goggles.

“... We’ve still got awhile to go. It’ll take us at least anywhere from a half hour to an hour to reach the core, not including dealing with any Shadows we come across. But I definitely sense a Treasure down there. A huge one... and a LOT of Shadows. Most are coming up docile, but still...” She lowered her hands. “This is not going to be a fun mission.”

Joker gave her a scandalized look. “What? It’s not going to be fun? But the last hour was such a blast!”

“I know, right?” Oracle sighed heavily. “What’s the point if we aren’t having fun?”

“Are you two done?” Fox sighed, his arms crossed. “We should keep moving. This is such a ghastly place...”

Joker stood back from the ledge and turned to his team. “Five minute break before we keep moving. Everyone eat, drink, stretch, do what you need to do before we move on.”

Nods came. Joker spied a flash of blue light out of the corner of his eyes and noticed a Velvet Room door had opened. Caroline was standing beside the door, patting a baton in her hands while Justine stood on the other side of the door with a clipboard she twirled in her hands.

“I suppose we can lend you a hand.” Caroline sighed, feigning annoyance as she waved her baton. Joker felt his energy and vitality return, and his team perked up without seeming to realizing it.

“Best of luck, Inmate.” Justine agreed. “If you need to change any of your Personas, now is your last chance.”

Joker shook his head. “I think I’m good. I’m content with the group we fused when I got here. Please give Igor my regards.”

“Sure, but...” Caroline shrugged. “He’s been weird since last night.”

Joker thought back to the strange conversation he had had with Igor in his dreams the previous night. 

“The end is nigh...” Igor had said in a tone Joker thought was strangely smug and... excited? Victorious?

“Don’t give up on us yet.” he had snapped in response. “I am the Trickster. I will change fate and steal victory if I please.”

Igor just laughed, deep and (dare he say it?) mildly demonic sounding. Even the twins seemed disturbed.

“You better not screw this up, Inmate.” Caroline snapped. “He’ll stop being weird if you succeed.”

“When.” Joker corrected. He bowed his head. “Thanks, you two.”

Justine shook her head. “Thank us when you have grasped victory, Trickster.”

“Joker, what are you looking at?”

Joker stiffened and turned to his team. They were all giving him worried looks, to which he managed a weak smile.

“Nothing,” he dismissed, “just messing around with my Personas. Let’s go.”

* * *

The depths of Mementos only grew creepier as they went deeper. The place was dim, dour, and gray along the paths where there weren’t creepy symbols drawn in blood red along the floors and walls. The Shadows were tough and the puzzles they faced annoying, but they bothered the team less than the discovery of where everyone on the subway trains was going. 

All around them were cages, some large with many people and some small enough to contain only person. The inhabitants of the cages murmured softly about how comfortable they were, how safe they were. They delved deeper and deeper in a place that felt endless, and found only more people content in their cages.

Working hard to accomplish your dreams is something only an idiot would do... here, any wish can become reality... and isn’t that all anyone wants out of life?

_ Don’t do anything unnecessary... this is going to be a beautiful end to our world... _

_ Who is to blame for the multitude of problems in the world...? I feel sick just thinking about it. All I can do now is ignore it, I suppose. _

These were a few of many similar sentiments that disturbed the group. They also heard hushed whispers of a quarantine cell, one that supposedly housed the worst sinner of them all. 

“Sounds like just the place for you, Joker.” Oracle teased. He shook his head and for perhaps the only time in the depths of Mementos, he smiled.

“Who? Me? Nah, that’s all you, sinnamon roll.”

They carried on after a mad fit of giggles and eyerolls from the others.

There were several rooms full of large cages spanning the length of the walls. There was one they reached where in one of the larger cages along the wall, they found their old enemies. Kamoshida. Madarame. Kaneshiro. Shido.

“Okumura isn’t here,” Shido said calmly from where he sat on a concrete slab, a ball and chain around his ankle, “the dead aren’t present here.”

“Yes, I know.” Noir snapped, glaring at him. “No thanks to you, but at least he’s not in this ghastly place.”

“Why are you all here?” Joker questioned. “Did you all allow yourselves to be imprisoned?”

Shido laughed. “Is that what it looks like to you? No... no, this is freedom.”

“Freedom from thinking for yourself, isn’t it?” Crow surmised bitterly, a hand on his chin. “This is why the masses aren’t reacting to your crimes.”

Shido looked guilty as he looked upon him. “Oh, son... why don’t you come in here to talk? It’s dangerous out there.”

“Go fuck yourself.” Crow snapped, his eyes narrowed. “I’d rather die free than be trapped here with you.”

Shido sighed and looked away. “... I understand why you feel this way about me. But you’re correct; this is not a prison. This is freedom. Freedom from having to think, having to make decisions. Life is so much easier if someone else pulls the strings.”

A chorus of soft, agreeing murmurs came. All the Thieves cringed, and Queen took a step forward. “Who is the ruler here? Who made this place?”

Shido chuckled.

“What an odd question. It should be obvious: every member of the general public.” At their horrified stares, he leaned forward. “Haven’t you learned anything in school? The collective ruler of a democratic country is its people.”

“D—Don’t lie out of your ass like that!” Skull protested, clenching a fist. Crow shook his head.

“That’s not a lie. He’s right; the general public shackled themselves like chattel.” 

“It doesn’t matter,” Skull snapped, “we’re gonna erase all of Mementos anyways! C’mon, let’s keep going!” He turned to Mona. “Mona, the Treasure’s in the deepest part, right?”

Mona was distracted. He looked away and surveyed all of the prisons with a faraway look in his eyes. Oracle frowned worriedly at him. “Mona...?”

The cat didn’t respond right away. When he did speak, his eyes were still down, and his voice was shaken.

“I remember this place. I saw the humans in here and realized I looked different than them for some reason...” His eyes widened, and he picked his head up. “... Right! That’s when I started to think I wanted to turn into a human!”

“Is that why you thought you might regain your memories if we reached the depths of Mementos?” Queen questioned gently. “Is that why you thought you’d regain your true form if we destroyed Mementos?”

Mona shook his head. “Sorry, but I’m still missing a lot of my memories. But I know I started checking a lot of Palaces randomly...” He looked up at Skull and Joker. “Then my next memory is about it that bastard Kamoshida.” He smiled. “I’m starting to remember...”

“HEY! What are you doing out of your cells?!”

All the Thieves jumped to attention as a Shadow prison warden came running. As it approached, it melted away into a Melchizedek. They could hear other Shadows appear behind them, and they turned to see more guards.

“Shit. Save it for later!” Joker hissed. His mask disappeared with blue flames. “ALICE!”

* * *

They had destroyed the guards handily and escaped. Down and down they went into the seemingly bottomless pit of Mementos while Mona struggled with his memories. They eventually reached another wide corridor, where there was only one cell.

“Guys, look.”

Eyes turned to where Noir was looking at a large, bolted door along the wall that had been locked in a cell, with an ominous red light hanging over the door. For some reason, Joker couldn’t help but think it felt familiar.

“Wait... could that be this quarantine cell...?” Queen wondered aloud.

“Supposedly, the most sinful, most dangerous inmate is held within...” Fox mused curiously.

Mona stepped forward, entranced by the door. “This... this place smells familiar for some reason...”

“Mona-chan...?” Noir addressed worriedly.

“... There’s no mistake.” Mona breathed. “This is it. I... was born here.”

The group’s eyes widened. Noir frowned. “Born...? Inside the prison?”

Panther gasped. “Wait, then are YOU the dangerous inmate?!”

Mona turned his head away from the door, though his eyes were still trained on it. “No... the inmate wasn’t me. But I remember this place... someone created me here to guide all of you.”

“Guide...?” Noir wondered. “And who is this someone?”

Mona grimaced and shook his head. “I can’t remember... damn it. I’m so close... but my memory is too foggy.”

Joker stared intensely at the door. Queen frowned. “Joker...?”

He shook his head and turned away from it. “Don’t mind me.”

“You’re curious, too, huh?” Skull gave the door an intensely curious look. “You know, hearin’ all this just makes me want to know what’s inside...”

Crow huffed impatiently. “Not to ruin the moment, but we need to keep moving before—”

“We found them! The escapees are in front of the isolated cell!”

Eyes flew up as more guards came running, surrounding them.

“Alert! Alert! Capture them at once!”

Joker grit his teeth and readied his weapons.

* * *

After another escape and more floor puzzles, they made it to the bottom at last.

“That’s it. That’s the core of Mementos right this way.”

Oracle made the declaration as Joker and his team stared out what looked like a large, black Colosseum, surrounded by ominous dark red, swirling energy. Red lights shone brightly out of the visible niches. 

All-in-all, it was the least inviting place they had ever seen. Still, with a deep breath, Joker moved forward, and his team followed with no hesitation. Their footsteps clicked and echoed through the cavernous place.

Joker hopped down once he reached the edge of their entry point and was left to stare up at a massive, dark gray goblet that loomed over them. Red tendrils flowed out of the top and lead along the walls to the thousands, maybe millions of cells around them full of more people murmuring in careless contentment. Two massive hand statues stood beside it, one on each side. Chains anchored the entire thing down. A wheel of sorts surrounded the side of the goblet. Lights shone like spotlights out of the sides.

“Look at how many people there are...” Fox breathed. “Are these all prison cells?”

“And... what’s that thing in the middle?” Oracle wondered.

“Whatever it is, it looks disgustingly grand...” Panther remarked in dismay.

“There are no other passages leading out of this room.” Crow snapped. “This is it. This is our final destination, the core of Mementos... the treasure of the ignorant masses.”

“Well, there’s no way we’re carrying that out of here.” Joker declared. “You all thinking what I’m thinking?”

Skull nodded and patted his bat in his hand with an eager grin. “If we can’t carry it, then we gotta destroy it!”

“Let’s get this over with.” Crow huffed. The team advanced forward, stopping only when they heard a thrumming coming from the treasure. The lights intensified, to which Oracle huffed.

“Guess it’s no surprise we’ve been discovered.”

The prisoners around them began to cry out as Oracle shook her head. “That thing isn’t gonna sit back and let itself be destroyed.”

“The inmates are starting to liven up. Are they planning something?” Fox wondered. Crow grit his teeth.

“Ignore them! We have a job to do.”

“Hold on,” Queen snapped, “something’s off. Shido said the masses are allowing themselves to be held captive here. Could they truly be operating this gigantic system that eliminates intruders on its own? The prison guards and soldiers were very organized, too...”

“Are you trying to say someone else rules this place?” Fox questioned. “Is it not the public?”

Strange, deep, and unsettling laughter echoed around them. Panther looked around anxiously.

“What was that?” she asked frantically as she moved into a fighting position.

“We don’t have time to worry about that!” Skull snapped. “Leave it for later!”

“Alright, guys!” Joker declared. “Let’s do this!”

“Allow me.” Crow’s mask dissipated. “DESCEND, LOKI!”

Loki appeared and threw a wicked curse attack on it. It barely made a dent, but it was enough to rouse the prisoners. The group paused briefly as they began to scream and shout at them desperately to stop, to get away from their Holy Grail.

It just spurred Crow on, who grinned and summoned Loki again for another attack on the same spot, this time leaving a sizable dent.

Just as the others began to do their best to ignore the pleas of the prisoners, it glowed, and the veins going into it pulsed, restoring it. 

“The hell?!” Skull cried.

“How vexing.” Fox hissed. Oracle looked up at the veins.

“It’s drawing strength from those! Someone needs to get up there and cut off its source of power!”

** “Fools...”  **

They paused as they heard the deep voicefrom earlier. Joker swore it sounded just like Igor.

“That voice...” Panther remarked. The entire team gave a yelp as a sharp beam of light suddenly escaped from one of the wheels around the goblet and shot at them. It almost grazed Noir, who barely managed to roll out of the way in time.

**“... Human, yet wishing to eradicate the desires of humanity.”**

“Who’s that?!” Panther cried in alarm as everyone gaped at it.

** “Repent.” **

“The treasure’s talking?!” Queen gasped, bewildered.

**“I am revered as the granter of dreams for all who behold me.”** the voice continued. **“A being most commonly known as the Holy Grail...”**

“I don’t care what you are. You’re going to die.” Crow snapped.

**“... The prison of regression is representative of the collective unconscious of humanity.”** it continued. **“They wish to be chained down, surrender their cognition, and neglect the world around them. These feebleminded folk will make your ‘social reform’ for naught. The shared heart of the masses has fallen into an excess of indulgence and transformed into a prison.”**

“Bullshit.” Joker spoke up firmly. “If the masses are all so willing to chain themselves, then why are all the ghosts— whose Shadows are with them, not in Mementos— so alarmed by the public reaction? They have not willingly ignored what’s going on.”

**“The dead are abominations,”** the voice snapped, **“their desires are inherently for freedom— for help for a release for what holds them captive on Earth. Worldly desires are meaningless to them once life is extinguished. They are the ones whose desires cannot be met by me. They shun me like all of you do, and thus, they have no place in this world if it is impossible for them to fall in line. The same fate will befall the living like yourselves who resist the will of god.”**

“So you admit you can’t grant all desires.” Crow sneered.

** “... The spirits should not exist. They are the last traces of smoke arising from a spent candle. I will put them to peace permanently by allowing the public to banish them.” **

The group gasped in scandalized horror. “You’re going to destroy the ghosts?!” Oracle gasped in dismay.

**“Not I. But they will be eliminated; the only suitable end for those in this prison is to perish. The dead and rebellious living will merely be first to go. The will of the public will remove you from this world; to where you go, I do not know. Be it eternal oblivion, Heaven, or Hell, it does not matter to me.”**

“That’s murder!” Skull cried out in outrage. “You’re the one doin’ this! You’re killin’ ‘em even when they’re already dead ‘cuz you can’t make them worship you!”

“I’m not letting you touch my mom!” Oracle wailed. “Joker—”

** “The time for the fusion has come.”  **

Joker grit his teeth, readied his knife, and ran for one of the hands to get to the veins when Oracle gave a panicked shout.

“GET AWAY FROM IT! IT’S ABOUT TO—”

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the Holy Grail turn a glowing golden. Bright, white light shot out from it and overwhelmed their senses. All screamed, and for a moment, were knocked senseless.

When they opened their eyes again, they were back in Shibuya by the train station. All of them stood in dumbfounded silence as the city bustled around them.

“What just happened?” Ryuji sputtered. “We’re back in Shibuya?”

“Looks like it.” Morgana murmured, back in cat form. Akechi scowled.

“Oh, no. We didn’t go through all of that for this. We’re going back down there, now.”

Ren scowled. “Calm down. Yes, we need to get back down there, but we should—”

He stopped as he felt a raindrop hit his head. The sound of rain pitter-pattering began to reach his ears as his team looked up and around them, holding their hands out to feel the unexpected rain coming down. Blood red drops of water were falling from the sky. 

“What the hell...?”

Ren turned around to see that most people around them hadn’t noticed, but any ghosts around had stopped to stare up at the sky in confusion. He heard their alarmed cries and murmurs as the closest ghost nearby, an older woman, looked around until she saw Ren staring at her.

“Oh, thank goodness, a ghost whisperer.” she addressed, shaken. “Do you see this, too, dear?”

Ren nodded. “I do.” He turned to his team and noticed that all of them were staring at the ghosts around them in open dismay. Ren’s eyes widened. “Wait. Did you hear that? Do you see them?”

No one got a chance to respond. Futaba gave a yelp as a rock spire erupted from the ground beside her, causing the others to flinch back. Eyes went back up to the sky to see rock pillars and pink fog settling in as the shape of a ribcage began to form from the spires of rock. Around them, the living seemed oblivious, but the ghosts stared up in open shock with them and began to scream.

“Mementos... here in Shibuya?” Makoto whispered in shock. “Is that what it meant by the ‘fusion’...?”

“Oh, god fucking damn it.” Akechi groaned. 

“No way. You’ve gotta be shitting me!” Ryuji agreed, staring at the surroundings, wide-eyed.

Morgana’s paws padded against the wet ground. He shivered. “To think this would happen... if we’re all seeing ghosts... we’re definitely in the Metaverse. This is what the Holy Grail meant by the fusion.”

“Why isn’t anyone noticing?!” Yusuke gasped.

“It’s probably because they don’t think it’s odd...” Makoto whispered.

Ren heard the ghost woman give a pained cry and collapse. His eyes widened even further, and he gave a gasp as he ran up to the ghost, followed by his team. He knelt down by her side and tried to look at her face.

“What’s wrong?”

The ghost moaned and shook her head. “I feel... bad. I haven’t felt discomfort like this since... before I died.”

“That’s strange.” Makoto observed. “Don’t ghosts not feel anything physical?”

The ghost looked up at her, about to respond before a pained look came in her eyes. With a terrified shriek, the woman disappeared into black smoke before the horrified teens. They began to hear more screams and shouts, and as they looked up, they could see more ghosts collapsing and screaming out for help before dissipating into black smoke.

“No!” Makoto cried out. “No, the Holy Grail is—”

“What about Mom?!” Futaba cried in a panic. She began to reach out for him, tears welling in her eyes. “We have to—”

Futaba stopped short, and with a moan, she collapsed to the ground, clutching her head. The others gasped, and Ren and Ryuji knelt down, reaching for her. Ryuji put a hand on her shoulder. “What’s wrong?!”

The girl moaned, a hand on her head as she looked up, dazed. “I feel... woozy...”

Ann reached a hand out to her. “Futaba-chan, hang on!” 

The same dazed look came on her face, and she, too, collapsed. At the same time, just as Ryuji and Haru shouted out in confusion, Ryuji groaned and stumbled, supporting himself with his hands and knees, while Haru’s knees buckled and she fell to the ground.

Ren himself abruptly felt very weak and tired. He gasped out and fell on his side, panting and reaching for his aching head. Behind him, one by one, Akechi, Makoto, Yusuke, and finally Morgana collapsed. 

“What... the fuck?” Akechi gasped and panted laboriously. “What... did that fucking thing... do to us?!”

“Are we already dead...?” Haru panted out. Ren reached two fingers to his neck and sighed.

“We’re still... solid. And I have a pulse. But something’s... not... right...”

Ryuji grit his teeth and moved himself onto his knees, sitting up with great effort. He clenched a fist. “God... damn it! What’s this creepy shit abo— GAH!” He fell flat on his chest as his arm gave out. The boy picked his head up and looked at his arm. All the color drained from his face as he saw his arm was dissipating into transparency. Black smoke surrounded their fading limbs.

Makoto stared down helplessly at a disappearing hand. “Is this... by the Holy Grail, too...?!”

Morgana moaned. “No... this is...”

**“Indeed,”** they heard the deep voice echo smugly, **“this is not my doing. The Phantom Thieves do not exist in the public unconscious... just like the dead who you see suffering the same fate. I did not have to expend any effort on you. Because you do not exist in their subconscious... you cannot exist in this world.”**

Akechi, though all his limbs were fading, gave an enraged cry and glared skywards. “You motherfu—”

He was gone with a puff of black smoke that dissipated into thin air. One by one, crying and screaming in dismay, the Thieves vanished. Finally, it was just Ren and Morgana, hanging on by a thread and staring at each other helplessly.

“I’m sorry,” Morgana whispered, “this... is my fault...”

Ren reached out weakly and patted the cat’s back. “No... this isn’t... your fault.”

“... I’m sorry.” the cat mourned all the same. “The mission’s... a failure.”

The cat vanished, and Ren was all alone. With a weary sigh, he rolled onto his back and stared up at the sky tiredly. He lifted an arm up and watched his hand fade until he, too, was gone. The last of the ghosts were gone by that point, and the living of the city carried on.

* * *

Sae was standing outside the courthouse when the fusion happened.

The woman had stepped outside for a breath of fresh air after finishing some paperwork, and was left in watch in horror as the sky turned blood red, red rain fell from the sky, and stone spires erupted from the earth.

“What’s going on?” she gasped. She looked around but only saw people who hadn’t been visible before staring up at the sky in alarm. The others around them remained oblivious. 

“Why isn’t anyone noticing this?!” 

She recognized the voice well. Her head spun to see her father at her side as he looked skyward in dismay. He lowered his head and turned to his daughter— they stared at each other for a second before yelling in shock.

“Dad!”

“You see me!” he gasped. “How?!”

Sae’s eyes widened. “The last time I could see you was in my own Palace, in the Metaverse. That means...” She blanched. “Don’t tell me...”

“It’s fusing with reality.” Genkei judged grimly. “See if you can get ahold of...”

He stumbled and fell to his knees and let out a dazed moan. Sae gasped and crouched down, eyes wide with terror as she watched her father pant and suffer. She began to hear screams and shouts around her, and looked up to see the ghosts around were collapsing as well and disappearing.

“No,” she breathed desperately, shaking her head as tears began to well in her eyes, “no, this can’t be happening!” 

She reached out for him, but her hands slipped through his shoulders. Genkei gasped and looked up at his daughter. He groaned.

“Get... Makoto... get yourselves... to safety. Love you...”

With that, he vanished into thick smoke and dissipated before his eldest daughter’s eyes as she let out a panicked scream as she cried hopelessly.

_ “DAD!”  _

* * *

Sojiro had been staring up in dismay at the sky, at the transformed world around him when he heard Wakaba scream from inside the cafe behind him.

The man dropped the bottles he had been carrying in a box and hurried inside in a panic. He barely registered the sound of glass breaking on the ground in his panic.

The man wasn’t sure what he was expecting to see, but it certainly wasn’t three people he knew were dead to be on the floor, gasping and panting— behaviors he knew ghosts shouldn’t he doing. Ayumu laid on the floor near the bathroom and watched herself disappear in open dismay. In Ayumu’s eyes, there was hopelessness.

Kunikazu Okumura had collapsed by the middle booth and gasped in pain. Wakaba was the closest to the door and was struggling to support herself as she tried to sit back up.

“Wakaba!” Sojiro gasped, collapsing to his knees to be at eye level with her. “What’s happening?! And why can I see all of you?!”

“Mementos.” she gasped. “It has to be Mementos. Whatever— was at the core fought back.“ She grit her teeth and tried to stand back up to no avail. Sojiro shook his head in wide-eyed panic.

“No! Don’t strain yourself!” He grimaced. “You don’t want to see what’s going on out there. It looks like hell.”

“It’s the Metaverse.” she gasped. “It’s fusing with reality. That’s why you can see me... and why I’m disappearing.”

“What?”

“... The dead don’t exist in the public subconscious.” She sighed and gave up, allowing herself to collapse to the floor. “Sojiro... I’m sorry.”

“No.” Sojiro gasped, shaking his head desperately. Tears were in his eyes. “No, there has to be something we can do!”

Wakaba smiled weakly at him.

“I’m glad we got to talk...”

Kunikazu gave a cry as he finally dissipated into black smoke, followed shortly thereafter by Ayumu. Sojiro reached out for Wakaba, but just as his hands made contact, the ghost disappeared into thin air.

“WAKABA!” he screamed as he reached out where she had been; his palms fell to the ground. Tears blurred his vision as Sojiro hung his head and prayed this was all just a terrible dream. He wept, alone as he fumbled for his phone to try in vain to contact his kids.


	47. Jailbreak

Ren opened his eyes to blue ceilings and walls, echoing with the sound of rattling chains. 

For a moment, he wondered if everything that transpired had just been some horrible dream that Igor apparently had the manners to pull him out of.

He had yet to arise from the bed when he heard Igor speak.

“In the end, your rehabilitation was not carried through.”

His gut wrenched as he recognized the voice. 

“It appears I have overestimated you...”

Ren pushed himself up, swung his legs over the side of the bed, and stood up to glare at Igor. “I’m not sitting around here. I refuse to accept that I’ve lost. Where’s my team?”

Igor just chuckled, to which Ren narrowed his eyes.

“Stop toying with me,” he snapped, “people’s lives aren’t a game.”

“Don’t take that tone with our master after you lost, you incompetent prisoner!” Caroline snapped. Ren glared back at her.

“By giving up on me, he’s giving up on humanity. You’re fine with that?”

He expected Caroline to yell at him, but a strange, conflicted look came in her eyes. 

“Humans are more apathetic... and more foolish than I had thought them to be.” Igor continued. “The world shall soon see its ruin...”

Ren shook his head. “There are still good people in this world who deserve to live, and the dead who deserve peace. Even if most of humanity is apathetic, the existence of so much as one good human warrants every effort to be made for its survival. And what about the spirits who are free of the Grail’s influence? It’s clear that not everyone is—”

“You have lost the game.” Igor snapped. “You were meant to bring change to mankind as the Trickster, but it seems that was too much for you.”

“You’re giving up on us too soon!”

“In accordance to the game’s rules, the defeated must pay a price.” Igor continued. “Your life is forfeit. I sentence you to execution. After you, we’ll handle Akechi for his failure as well.”

The twins’ eyes widened, and Ren grit his teeth as he shook his head.

“No. I refuse.”

“This is not a decision you are free to make. God’s decree is absolute.”

Ren laughed and shook his head. “You can kill me, but my spirit will never rest until I win this farce you call a game!”

The prison door behind him flung open, and the jail cell bars vanished, as did the ball and chain around his ankle. With a flash of blue light, Joker appeared out of the dissipating and stepped forward as the twins gaped at him.

“I don’t care if you aren’t going to help me.” he snapped firmly, his fists clenched. “I’m getting my team and leaving, with or without your consent.” 

“H—How dare you!” Justine protested weakly. “Our master...”

“Ordered my death.” Joker turned to the twins with a defiant scowl. “Is this really what you think is right?”

“Sh—Shut up!” Caroline protested, stomping a foot. “This is your fault for losing the game!”

“Our master’s orders cannot be helped.” Justine said, though she sounded uncertain, and she looked away from him.

He shook his head. “What good would be a Trickster who accepts defeat so easily? If you want to fight me, I’ll fight back however I must. But are you two really okay with this?”

The twins shared an anxious look. A silent debate went on between them until both jolted as Igor spoke again.

“I believe I ordered this one’s execution?”

Caroline faced him and pursed her lips for a moment before speaking.

“... Master... have you forsaken humanity?”

Igor stared with that same expression he always had.

“What...?”

Justine, frowning, shook her head. “We are wardens— those that rehabilitate prisoners. Something speaks to me in my mind... our true duty is not to kill.”

_Help_...

Joker’s head picked up as he instinctively searched for who had pled for help. It was the sound of a young girl’s voice, one he thought seemed... familiar. His eyes caught on a shining blue butterfly fluttering above him.

_Please... help_...

“Who are you?” he whispered. 

_ Who...? Yes, we are those who wish for true rehabilitation... _

Joker looked at the girls. Their eyes had grown hard, and they stood a little straighter.

“We are not executioners.” Justine said firmly. “That is the truth we had forgotten.”

Caroline nodded, throwing her baton down. “We’ve decided... we will not forsake humanity!”

A shining blue butterfly appeared again, this time between the girls. Both stumbled to their knees and turned to each other, dazed.

“Your right eye, and my left...” Caroline murmured. “It’s as if they’re the same, yet mirrored...”

A figment of a young girl in a blue dress with long blonde hair and a book between them and vanished. A light of recognition shone in their eyes.

_ Ah... now is the time for our wish to be realized... _

The girls nodded at each other, once. Caroline rose to her feet first.

“I finally remember...” Caroline murmured. She turned to glare at Igor. “How we were torn apart.”

“You remember?” Joker questioned softly. Justine rose up next.

“We were originally one... yet we were torn apart into halves... by malevolent intent!”

All eyes flew to Igor. The being just chuckled in the creepy way it had before.

“So we were captives, same as you.” Caroline snarled. “To think we’d learn the truth from a prisoner.”

Justine turned to her and tapped a foot against the ground. “Let us regain our true form...!”

They turned to Joker. “We’ll give you your last job.” Caroline ordered. “Be thankful and obey!”

“You must fuse us together, with your own hands.” Justine agreed. Joker smiled proudly.

“As you wish.”

The girls moved to the guillotines. Though there no small amount of internal bewilderment at the prospect of guillotining two young girls, Joker did as he was told. As the blades fell, a cloud of butterflies erupted from each half and swarmed into one. As the swarm faded, a young girl in a blue dress with long, straight blonde hair with a blue butterfly headband was standing. A thick book was held under her arm.

She bowed her head to a bemused Joker who stepped away from the guillotines.

“My name... is Lavenza.” she spoke with the voice Joker recognized from the interrogation room. “I was torn apart by malevolent will and took the form of those twins. I sought help before my body was split in two.”

Sucking in a breath, Joker turned to glare at the supposed Igor. “Malevolent will... come to think of it, ‘Igor’, your voice sounds uncannily like that of the Holy Grail.”

Lavenza scowled. “It is as you suspect... this monster wearing the skin of my master is the one who tore me asunder!”

‘Igor’ laughed. The figure rose up in the air, which darkened around him. Its eyes shone golden as Joker and Lavenza took a step back.

“Whether the human world is left as is or destroyed and rebuilt, it is all sport to me.” it said with an air of arrogance, its voice growing more demonic. 

Joker was about to say something when Lavenza hissed at him to be careful. Joker sucked in a breath and bit his tongue.

“So who are you, really? And why were you planning on killing Akechi next?”

“If I were to put it into words that you can comprehend, I am the Holy Grail that grants wishes. No... it may be more accurate to say that I am a god who responds to desire and holds dominion over man. I hoped seeing a righteous thief vanquish evil would spur mankind to change their own indolent hearts...” 

It sounded infuriatingly smug as he continued. “However, the masses have made it so none of it transpired. They even ignore the rival I set up to be your foil... Goro Akechi. By breaking the rules and joining you, he, too, has failed, and would have faced execution next. Humans should be met with ruin; you both proved that to me.”

Joker scowled. “And of the ghosts?”

“They are nothing to me,” the god of control said coldly, “as I said earlier, they are the traces of smoke arising from a spent candle. They interfered with the game far too much and had to be removed from the world. I had hoped the ones closest to you and your allies would have gained the sense to leave this world they do not belong in before it was too late, but they’re just as foolish as you.”

“They’re people, too!” Joker protested. 

“Not in my eyes.” it dismissed. “In any event, to be frank, inmate, I believe it may be worth reevaluating you. A human reached the Holy Grail and has seen my true identity. You’ve surprised the god that I am often enough. That cannot be done by a foolish commoner; you truly are a prisoner who did not bore me.”

“Where are you going with this?” he demanded. The god chuckled.

“It has been entertaining watching you. I will offer you an opportunity: I will restore the world to its corrupt state.”

“You forcefully dragged him into the Metaverse and through an ordeal he did not deserve!” Lavenza protested. “Yet, you still intend on toying with him?!”

“The Phantom Thieves will be praised and gain fame. The world will be saved from ruin, too.”

Joker scoffed. “You’re a fool if you think I would trust you or allow the world to be left in such an ignorant state. I refuse.”

Lavenza smiled at him. “Well said.”

“Such irredeemable foolishness,” the being snapped, “destruction is truly what mankind deserves.”

He disappeared, and Joker felt Lavenza pat his arm as he stood up straight and let out a weary sigh. 

“You did the right thing, Trickster.” she reassured. “Now...”

Behind him came the sound of a flourish of magic. He and Lavenza turned to see the Velvet Room desk reforming, with the figure of Igor sleeping, laying his head upon it. Lavenza gasped.

“Master!”

Igor yawned and picked his head up. He focused on Joker and for the first time, Joker thought that smile of his seemed sincere.

“Welcome to the Velvet Room.” he greeted. His voice was much softer than the god of control’s; this Igor’s voice reminded him of that of a cheerful, eccentric old man. 

“This is the real master of the Velvet Room.” Lavenza explained as she turned to a visibly dazed Joker. “He has just awakened from a long period of imprisonment. Your actions have freed him.”

“Oh.” Joker cleared his throat and bowed awkwardly. “Hi?”

The real Igor chuckled. “My name is Igor. I am the master of the Velvet Room. Well done making it this far.”

“... Thanks.” Joker frowned. “I don’t mean to be rude, but do either of you know where my team is and where all the ghosts went?”

“Your friends are held captive in the cells down the hall that way.” Lavenza pointed to a dark, open hallways. “They, as well as the four ghosts the god of control mentioned, are here.”

Joker’s eyes widened, and he let out a gasp of relief. “They’re here, too?”

“Yes.” Lavenza nodded. “The Velvet Room is far larger than you know. We are holding the world’s ghosts in various pockets of this place; you will not find most of them in this particular part of the Velvet Room. The ghosts here are simply the ones closest enough to you and your team to manifest in this area.”

“They will be safe here until the world is restored.” Igor reassured. “They will all be returned to the real world once that happens.”

As Joker smiled and let out a breath, Lavenza spoke up. “Go and free them, then meet back here. We will explain everything, as well as what must be done to save your world.”

* * *

One by one, Joker found his teammates. All were downtrodden and defeated, though relieved to see him intact as he approached. There was no small amount of reluctance on any of their parts to come out, but a pep talk from Joker was enough to convince them all to regain their wills of rebellion and free themselves from their prison cells.

The ghosts were no different.

Not long after locating Queen, Joker found her father further down the hall. He was leaning against the wall in the back of the cell, his arms crossed. The man picked his head up at the sound of footsteps, and scowled defiantly until he saw who the visitor was. 

Genkei’s shoulders relaxed, and his expression softened as he looked Joker up and down. He smiled wryly.

“Nice getup, kid.” 

Joker shrugged. “It’s just my Phantom Thief outfit... your daughter has one, too, you know.”

The man frowned and stood up, away from the wall. “Is she okay?”

“She’s fine. Further down the hall; I got her out.”

“Oh, thank God.” Genkei grimaced. “I take it what happened to me happened to you all?”

“Yes. We were all erased from the public cognition. Wasn’t fun.” Joker shook his head and scowled. “It turns out the core of Mementos is this sentient thing calling itself the Holy Grail. We fought it, it healed itself, and ejected us from Mementos. It calls itself the God of Control, and it intends to destroy the world.”

Genkei stared at him for several moments in silence before shaking his head and sighing heavily.

“Is anything that happens to you normal, kid?”

“Nah. It’d be too easy if it was.” Joker nodded down the hall. “C’mon. Let’s get you out of here and we’ll talk more about what needs to be done.”

Genkei hesitated. With a weary sigh, he looked down and away. 

“What can we do?” he questioned dubiously. “Against a god that managed to expel all of you as well as all of the ghosts of the world....”

Joker leaned on one hip, a hand on his side. “So is sitting here in doubt, going down without a fight, better than throwing caution to the wind and fighting for what’s right until the end?”

Genkei picked his head up and gave him a mild look of surprise. The man smiled proudly and nodded. “... You’re right. Niijimas don’t go down without a fight. What sort of man would I be if I accepted defeat lying down?” He bowed his head. “I have you to thank for reminding me of that.”

The jail bars glowed and faded, and Genkei strolled out of the prison. Joker quirked a brow. “Couldn’t you have just walked through those? You’re a ghost...”

“I tried and couldn’t. I think it had to do more with some symbolic bullshit than an actual physical barrier.”

There was a pause as Genkei cleared his throat and looked at Joker with admiration. “Thanks again, Ren; you truly are the bravest man I’ve ever met. You’re the closest I’ll ever get to having a son, and I couldn’t be prouder.” 

Joker flushed a bit, and smiled. “Thanks. Well, break time’s over; do you want me to lead you to your daughter?”

“Do you even have to ask? Lead the way.”

* * *

Queen’s first instinct upon seeing her father was to gasp out in surprise and relief; a similar reaction came from Genkei as, for the first time, she focused on him in spirit form without the need for an aide. 

“Dad!” she cried, and the two ran for each other. A hug was attempted, but Genkei phased right through her. The two sheepishly pulled apart and smiled at each other. 

“Thank goodness you’re alright, Mako-Mako.” he breathed. Queen was about to respond when she noticed her father looking over her outfit and focusing on the spikes with curiosity. She went beet red and yelped in alarm as she moved to hide behind a bemused Joker.

“Eek! Don’t look at me!”

“Queen, you look fine.” Joker reassured. Queen glared at him and audibly whined.

“You don’t count! He’s my father, and he’s standing right there!”

Genkei laughed, hard. His laughter echoed through the hall until he could get ahold of himself and smile.

“You look great, Mako-Mako! I love the spiked shoulders. You look better than your boyfriend, at any rate. He looks like a kid who just walked out of Harajuku after going on a shopping trip trying to find cosplay materials to look like Tuxedo Mask.”

“Hey!” Joker protested, feigning indignity. “I look way cooler than Tuxedo Mask!”

“You wish.” Genkei scoffed. “Was that your angle behind that outfit?”

“Hell no!” Joker pouted, but couldn’t resist snickering beneath it. He patted his chest. “This is the image of rebellion that I hold within!”

Genkei snorted. “Then I guess your image of rebellion is a nerdy magician boy while my daughter’s is that of a badass biker. I’m judging your taste in men right now, Mako-Mako.”

Giggles came as Queen extracted herself from behind Joker. Her cheeks were still red, but she was laughing all the same.

“ _Daaad!_ Be—” She laughed. “Be nice to him; he’s a nice boy.”

Genkei sighed and shook his head. “Oh, I suppose he’s alright. I guess that makes up for his looks...”

“You’re so kind.” Joker said sarcastically, though smiling. He let out a sigh and sobered. “Okay. I still have some others to go rescue. Wait here until you hear me whistle, okay?”

“Understood, Joker.” Queen smiled at her father. “We’ll just... be here talking.”

* * *

Joker found Wakaba in a cell not far from where Oracle had been imprisoned. The woman was sulking, sitting in the corner and staring blankly at the floor when he arrived. At his approach, she looked up with resignation only to do a double take at who it was.

“Ren!” she gasped in relief and rose to her feet. She approached the bars and tried to move through them, but couldn’t. She grimaced. “I’m relieved to see you’re okay; where’s Futaba?”

“She’s safe. I got her out of her cell not far from here.”

Wakaba let out a deep sigh of relief and hung her head. “Thank goodness...” She looked around herself. “What happened in the depths of Mementos? What is this place? And why am I stuck in here?”

Joker held a hand up. “Okay, first question: turns out that the core of Mementos is sentient and calls itself the God of Control. It intends to destroy the world and humanity. It ejected us from Mementos after stating it was time for the ‘fusion’ and that’s when Mementos and reality fused. All the ghosts as well as us disappeared as a result.”

Wakaba grimaced and shook her head. “That is... the worst possible scenario. And for my other questions?”

Joker looked around the hall and back to Wakaba. “This place is called the ‘Velvet Room’,” he elaborated, “it’s where I’ve been going to fuse new Personas. The master of this place told me all the ghosts and those expelled from the world were sent here.”

Wakaba’s eyes widened with eager curiosity, and she got as close as she could to the bars. “You have to tell me more; is this a specific realm of the Metaverse? How is it normally accessed? What is its relation in space and time to reality?” She stopped and cleared her throat. “Actually, explain all of that as soon as you figure out how to get me out of here.”

“It’s your own cognition.” Joker explained with a sigh. “You feel defeated. Like we can do nothing to stop what’s going on outside. That everything was for naught.”

Wakaba sighed wearily and nodded. “... I do feel that way. How can we possibly reverse what’s happened to the real world? How can we stop a self-declared god? Our only hope may be saving as many people as possible by pulling them into this... Velvet Room and hiding here.” 

Joker stared, hard. “Are you ready to give up on us? What about the world Futaba deserves?”

Wakaba frowned, looked down again, and closed her eyes. When she reopened them, she picked her head up to face Joker. Her eyes were determined. “... You’re right. We may not even be safe here forever; for all our sakes... we must fight. Thank you for reminding me of that.”

The bars vanished. Wakaba stepped out and reached forward to try to hug Joker. It was a strange sensation; there was a very brief, light pressure around his abdomen and a chill. Still, it was somehow comforting, and brought a soft smile to his face.

“Thank you again.” she said gratefully as she pulled away. She beamed at him. “I mean it when I say that you are my child now, too.” She sniffled. “You are my son, and I can’t put in words how proud I am of you. Futaba is lucky to have such an amazing brother.”

Joker flushed a bit. He could feel a tear trying to escape from his eyes; he sighed and settled for smiling warmly at her.

“Thanks... M...”

“You don’t have to call me ‘Mom’ if you’re not comfortable doing so.”

Joker let out a breath of relief and beamed. “Good, because I consider you to be like a mother to me, but it feels weird coming out of my mouth.” Wakaba nodded, and he looked down the hall. “Come on. I’ll take you to Futaba.”

“Lead the way.”

* * *

_ “MOM!” _

As soon as Oracle caught sight of them, the girl came barreling down the hallway. They ran to each other andtried to hug as well as being a ghost allowed, which was enough to put Oracle in tears as she beamed.

“I’m so happy to see you again with my own eyes.” She looked up at Joker and pulled her mask onto her head. Her eyes were loving and damp with tears. “This is why I would kill to have what you have. Amazing to think this is how you see and hear normally!” She grinned. “I’ve never been so happy to have almost died! I hope the trauma of all of that disappearing stuff at least gave us that as a consolation prize.”

“You can worry about that later.” Wakaba replied with a chuckle. “We have a lot to handle now, and your brother needs to go free some of the others.”

Oracle nodded at her mother and looked back up at Joker. “You go on ahead. Mom and I are gonna talk until you call for us.”

* * *

Not long after freeing Noir, Ren found her father sitting on the floor against the wall. His head was hanging, and he looked defeated. 

He glanced up at Joker’s approach. He briefly startled at the sight of him before his eyes widened with recognition and he returned to a sulking position.

“Sorry, Amamiya-kun. Didn’t recognize you for a moment with that Phantom Thief outfit of yours.” He sighed wearily. “If you’ve come to rescue me, don’t bother. This is exactly what I deserve.”

“We were brought here, too, you know.” Joker explained. Kunikazu looked up at him with wide eyes.

“You don’t mean... Haru had to suffer through disappearing like we did?! Oh, no...”

“She’s fine. A little shaken, but fine. We were all transported here after being kicked out of reality.”

Kunikazu grimaced. “While I’m... glad to hear that she survived it, I’m still horrified at the thought that she had to go through that terror.” He shook his head. “What sort of monster did you find down there...?”

“It calls itself the god of control. Its goal is to fuse Mementos and reality and then destroy it all.”

The man sighed heavily and hung his head. “That’s worse than I could ever imagine... how could we ever hope to stop such a catastrophe? And to think, I probably would have been one of the ignorant Shadows supporting that monster if I hadn’t died...”

“Hey. Enough feeling sorry for yourself.” Joker snapped. Kunikazu gave him a wide-eyed look as the boy shook his head. “Your daughter hasn’t given up yet. If you don’t have faith in me, put faith in her.”

He trembled and gasped. “Haru...” He gave him a hopeful look. “Can you bring her here?”

Joker nodded and walked down the hall. Several moments later, Kunikazu saw Joker return, with his daughter beside him with a tearful smile.

The man gaped as he took her in. She giggled. “Hello, Father.”

He rose to his feet, shaking. His eyes were still as wide as ever. Joker was sure he’d be crying if he could; the noises of tears still escaped him. “Haru...!”

Noir nodded and put a hand to her chest. “I believe Joker— er, Ren explained the situation to you. Please, Father... have faith not just in me, but faith in the Phantom Thieves. This isn’t over yet.”

After a moment of staring, Kunikazu beamed and nodded. “... I promised myself I would never doubt you again. If you truly believe that this ‘god of control’ can be stopped, then... I’ll stand at your side. No matter what.”

The bars disappeared, and Kunikazu stepped up. He smiled at the two. “Thank both of you for talking sense into me. Seems I have to thank the Thieves for returning me to the right path twice now.”

“You should thank Ren,” Noir said, gesturing to him, “I had doubts, too, but he reminded me why we fight.”

“Ah, yes.” He turned to Joker. “I owe you more than I can ever repay. I was terrible to you and my daughter, yet you fought for my heart and welcomed me back even in death. You have empowered my daughter as well as myself, and in doing so, saved both of us. No words will ever express my gratitude or the extent of my guilt.”

“All in a day’s work.” Joker replied with his signature smirk. 

“... But really, though,” Kunikazu spoke up again as he looked him over curiously. “Why in the world do you get those outfits when you’re in this sort of place?”

“It’s our image of our will of rebellion, Father.” Noir giggled. She put her hands on her hips. “Do you like it?”

He beamed. “I love it. You’re adorable while also showing a threatening aura with those grenades on your belts around your hips. What’s there not to appreciate?”

Noir giggled, and with a look back, Joker left her and her father to talk while he continued on.

* * *

Joker found Akechi leaning against the wall in a cell that was far in the back rows of cells. His hands were clasped together and an annoyed scowl was on his face as Joker approached his cell. The boy met his gaze steadily.

“What is it?” he huffed irritably. 

“I came to get you out of here.”

Akechi scoffed and shook his head. “Do you seriously think we can win against a god? If you do, you’re dumber than I thought.”

Joker shrugged. “Look, either we stay here and wait to die or we fight for our lives. There are no other options.”

“So what? Why bother?” Akechi shrugged and crossed his arms. “It’s clear the masses don’t want to be saved.”

“I’ll spare you the grand talk about saving people because I know it means nothing to you.” He put his hands on his hips. “We need to do this because we live in that world, dumbass. This is like watching a house burn down but shrugging because the other people inside don’t care if they burn.” He crossed his arms. “Besides, do you _really_ want to die in a cell like your dad will? The only way to make sure your father pays and suffers is to fix what’s going on.”

There was a moment of silence. Conflicting emotions flashed over Akechi’s face before he finally let out a resigned groan and stepped away from the wall.

“God damn it, you’re right. Fine.”

A flash of blue fire erupted around him, leaving Crow where Akechi had stood. The bars disappeared, and he stepped out of the prison.

“Let’s go.” he said calmly. “Where are the others?”

“Hang on. I’m still looking for your mom and Mona.” 

Crow shrugged. “Anything’s better than standing around here. Lead the way.”

* * *

They found Crow’s mother another row down. She had been lying on the floor and peered up at their approach with a tired look in her eyes.

“Mother.” Crow addressed coolly. “Time to go.”

The ghost stood up quietly. The bars of the cell disappeared, and she exited without a word. Joker’s brows lifted.

“Well. That was easy.”

Ayumu offered a small smile. “My son has decided he wants to fight on; that’s enough for me. I owe him that much.”

Crow’s eyes widened. He mouthed something to himself that Joker couldn’t make out, but he had little time to ponder it as he heard Lavenza’s voice echo through the halls.

_ “It seems you’ve found everyone. Lead them back to us, Trickster.” _

Joker frowned anxiously. “But... I haven’t found Mona yet!”

“Who was that?” Crow questioned. Joker shrugged.

“Long story; her name’s Lavenza. She’s helping us. We’ll explain soon.”

“Then just ask her where Mona is. If he disappeared, too, then he’s here somewhere.” He nodded toward the long hall leading to the center of the Velvet Room. “Do your job.”

Though worried for his partner, Joker nodded and headed down the main hall, where those he had freed were already making their way to. He stopped and waited for everyone to catch up with him. They crowded together and waited for him to make a decision. 

Those without ghost parents present were somewhat distracted by the ghosts they could see in the bizarre realm they found themselves in. Fox had produced a sketchpad from somewhere and was sketching what he saw. Skull and Panther looked at the ghosts with wide eyes and curiosity, albeit with pursed lips so as to not be rude. Those with parents present stood closely by their ghost, save for Crow. 

“Where’s Mona?” Oracle asked worriedly. Joker shook his head. 

“I don’t know. I couldn’t find him; I’m hoping we can find out where he is from the people you’re about to meet.” He turned toward where he knew Igor— the real Igor— and Lavenza were. “Let’s go!”


	48. Day of Reckoning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There’s some important things I need to say.
> 
> First off, this chapter was... barely proofread because I’m exhausted and wanna just publish.
> 
> Secondly, the reason I’m tired is because I started graduate school. That plus the fact I also work full time means updates will be slower, possibly significantly so, but I have no intentions of abandoning this story. Not when I’ve made it this far.
> 
> Thirdly, this fic got a TV Tropes page! I have no idea how or when this happened, but let me tell you, I was very flattered. Thank you! https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/YouSeeThem
> 
> Will add to fic description later when I’m more awake.

The group approached Igor’s desk, by which stood Lavenza. All of them (particularly Wakaba) looked around the room curiously.

“What is this place...?” Fox whispered to himself in awe.

“Who’s the man with the long nose?” Crow hissed suspiciously. “What is he? Why does he look like that?”

Panther scowled at him. “Oh my God, Crow, you can’t just ask people why they have a long nose!”

“Who are they...?” Queen whispered to Ren. The seated man laughed. 

“My name is Igor. I am the master of the Velvet Room.”

“And I am Lavenza, a resident of this place as well.” Lavenza spoke up. “We have been waiting for all of you. My master has just been released from a long period of imprisonment; his powers have not fully returned. Though it may be presumptuous of me, I will speak on his behalf.”

“Velvet Room...?” Noir murmured to herself, befuddled.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but can you tell us where Morgana is, please?” Wakaba asked worriedly. “Ren couldn’t find him in the cells...”

“Would you like to see him?”

“Of course we would.” Joker affirmed hopefully.

Lavenza pointed behind him. “He’s right over there.”

They turned to see Mona trotting out of a cell. “That’s where you were hidin’?” Skull questioned. Mona just nodded Joker let out a breath of relief as he approached the cat with a faraway look in his eyes.

“Are you okay?” Joker asked worriedly. Mona nodded.

“I’m okay. Thank you.” He crossed his arms and looked down with that same conflicted expression.

“Mona...?” Oracle whispered anxiously. Mona didn’t look up as he responded in a matter-of-fact tone.

“I... was born here.” He looked up at Joker. “It was to dispel an evil being from man’s spiritual world.”

“Mona...?” Oracle questioned hesitantly. 

Mona continued to stare, hard, at Joker. “My role was to find the Trickster and help him defeat it. That’s why I was created here by my master.”

Everyone looked over at the master of the Velvet Room.

“Indeed.” Igor confirmed proudly. Eyes widened as Mona continued.

“I really remember everything.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Kunikazu interjected. “What are you talking about?”

“I will explain.” Lavenza spoke up. She was about to begin when Genkei spoke up.

“I am so sorry to interrupt you, Lavenza-san, but is there some way we could contact our loved ones from here?” He cringed. “I disappeared in front of my eldest daughter’s eyes. She must be terrified!”

“I disappeared in front of Sojiro.” Wakaba agreed grimly. “But... we might have to wait.”

Lavenza looked between the two and Joker. She shrugged. “If they are your allies... what are their full names?”

“Sojiro Sakura and Sae Niijima.” Joker replied. Lavenza shared a look with Igor, who nodded at her. She vanished in a flourish of light, causing the visitor to jump back in alarm. Moments later, a blue butterfly came fluttering in and moved to where Lavenza had been. In a flash, Lavenza was back and nodded at the gaping group (save for an unfettered Joker).

“It’s handled. Do not worry.” she said calmly. 

“What did you do...?” Queen asked hesitantly. Lavenza shook her head.

“You’ll see soon. I’ve wasted enough time as it is; we need to continue. Mona, please continue.”

Mona nodded. “When this place was about to be taken over, my master gathered the last traces of mankind’s hope... He mustered his remaining strength to make me.”

“So he’s your father, in a sense.” Ayumu remarked.

Wakaba giggled and looked up at Igor. “You have such a handsome son.”

“Isshiki-saaan...!” Mona groaned and covered his face with his paws, though he smiled and giggled. Skull scoffed.

“What’s with that attitude? You got an ego bigger ‘n Tokyo.”

“It’s different when a mother figure says it to you!”

Oracle stepped forward and knelt down to Mona’s level. “The embodiment of human hope...” She grabbed the sides of his head and scratched, ignoring a yowl of protest. “I can see it. Cats give people hope.”

“Not a cat!” Mona groaned. “Just the most unfortunate form that human hope took!”

“It’s not the worst.” Fox replied. “There are hideous things in this world. It is fitting that hope takes the form of something humanity finds comforting.”

“We’re running out of time,” Lavenza huffed, drawing their conversation as she glowered at them, “the entity that calls itself a god is a malevolent will that forces man into everlasting servitude. He has enslaved the Shadows he can, though not all could be swayed.”

“And ghosts are out of its reach by our very nature.” Wakaba surmised. Lavenza nodded.

“Correct. That is why he disdains the spirits so— he cannot manipulate their Shadows. He considered all of you to be threats. It hopes to attain eternal peace by filling reality with those who have stopped thinking for themselves.” 

“And we’re in defiance of that.” Genkei remarked. He grinned. “I barely understand a lot of the supernatural stuff going on, but it’s nice to know our very existence makes that thing’s job all that much harder.”

Lavenza sighed. “... That is the ruin of man this god envisions.”

“But why?” Genkei questioned. “If it wants eternal peace by filling the world with those with no will, only to destroy it all— why? What’s the point? What does he gain from this?”

“I... um...” Skull coughed. “I don’t... understand what you’re sayin’ at all—“

“Shut up and listen!” Lavenza snapped, making Skull jolt and the others flinch. “We don’t have much time left!”

“So... the holy grail is a god?” Queen questioned, putting a hand to her chin. “I was wondering why it had a will of its own, but are you implying that it isn’t a Treasure?”

“No. As the distorted desires of Mementos, it most certainly is the core of Mementos itself.”

Noir cocked put a hand on her chest. “Then... did the Treasure become a god because people wished to be ruled over?”

“That is correct.”

Crow scoffed. “I don’t know what we expected. People are morons. But why go to all this trouble if it was just going to destroy us?”

Lavenza shook her head. “To decide the fate of the world, it chose two people with potential and pitted them against each other. One— Goro Akechi— incited the masses’ distortion. Had he won, the world would’ve been destroyed and remade.”

“What?!” Crow indignantly balked with a scowl and a fervent shake of the head. His fists clenched. “I didn’t agree to be on Team Dumbfuck Public!”

Lavenza ignored him and continued. “The other was a Trickster who would stand up against this... that was Ren Amamiya.”

“If Ren won, the human world would be left as is.” Mona continued. “Those were the conditions of the game—at least, that’s what should have happened.”

They all gave him a quizzical look, and so Lavenza continued. “That malevolent being knew that a revolution would not occur within indolent humans.”

“Because it’s the distorted desires of the public.” Wakaba growled. Joker and Oracle looked at her nervously as they sensed a building rage growing within her.

“... However, my true master believed in humanity. He believed a Trickster would rise among the people and accomplish this change. The evil entity laughed at the prospect and sought to prove the powerlessness of man with the game.” She looked up at Joker. “And Ren Amamiya had great potential... which is why it approached him.”

All eyes went on Joker. Joker kept his eyes trained on Lavenza and tried to ignore the stunned looks he was getting from everyone but Mona and Crow. Mona just looked proud while Crow had crossed his arms and looked annoyed.

“It helped train the Trickster, only to cast him into despair, using the masses who rejected their savior. This was likely its means to nip in the bud anything that would pose a threat.”

“Basically,” Mona spoke up, “Ren and Goro were both dragged into a game that was rigged by the evil god.”

Crow’s eyes were burning with rage and hatred. He was shaking as he clenched his fists. “You mean to tell me that— that everything that happened— was all because we were being toyed with in a fucking social experiment?! Our lives were— ALL OF THIS WAS A FUCKING GAME?!”

“That is correct.” Lavenza said bluntly. Crow let out a shout of rage and stomped a foot.

“I’ll kill it,” he hissed, “I’ll fucking kill it!“ He turned to Joker. “Let’s show it what we think of being toyed with! It meant for us to destroy each other, but we’ll show it our combined wrath!”

“We died because a god thought it fit to toy with children.” Wakaba hissed. 

“I deserved what happened to me,” Kunikazu snapped, “but you and so many others did not deserve the fate they suffered because this— thing gave power to a messed up kid!”

“Your alliance shocked the god.” Lavenza continued. “He fully expected either of them to kill the other. So when Akechi was spared at the last moment and joined the Trickster’s cause, he was outraged... and afraid. Because as far as he knew, one of you was destined to fall, but the Trickster, using the Sight, was able to change destiny. Such is the power of the Trickster to change fate.”

Joker scoffed. “I’m honestly surprised he didn’t see that coming...”

“It underestimated you.” Lavenza replied. “It assumed the Sight was nothing more than a novelty that wouldn’t change anything that mattered. A few times, it was right that nothing changed, but the moment Akechi was saved was when it realized the true threat you presented— worse, Akechi gained the Sight as well.” 

Akechi grinned. “Well... if it pisses off that thing, then maybe it’s not so bad after all.” He turned to Joker. “We’ve spent enough time standing around. That thing needs to die.”

Joker pumped a fist to his chest. “We got this.”

“Hell yeah!” Skull cheered. “Let’s destroy that annoyin’, shiny treasure jerk!”

Lavenza stepped forward. “I will guide you to the exit.” As they approached the hall, she paused and turned to the ghosts. She frowned apologetically. “I’m sorry, but the real world has already fused with Mementos. If you were to step foot there, you would simply be pulled back into the Velvet Room.”

A chorus of disappointed groans escaped the ghosts. “There’s really no way?” Genkei groaned. “But I want to watch the kids kick its ass...”

“While I have a lot of questions about this place, I’d rather watch my children fight on.” Wakaba agreed.

“Is there truly no way...?” Ayumu bemoaned. Igor chuckled and drew their attention.

“I should be able to create a small zone of control by the exit door. You won’t be able to follow them to the fight, but you can stand and cheer them on, if you wish.”

“Master!” Lavenza gasped with wide eyes. “Are you sure? You just awakened from a period of imprisonment... you should not strain yourself.”

“I’m sure.” He steepled his gloved fingers. “Go on, with my blessing.”

* * *

The world was still the same red hellscape they had disappeared from when they appeared out of the door from the Velvet Room. Red rain continued to pelt the city, and the sky was still blood red.

“We’re back at the station,” Queen observed, “this is where we were when our bodies disappeared.”

“Wait, isn’t that—?” Panther sounded surprised, and as Joker turned around, he saw the large quarantine cell door from earlier in Mementos. 

“I believe this is the quarantine cell.” Fox agreed.

“The what?” Ayumu questioned, giving them curious looks. Noir looked between the door and Joker.

“We found it in the depths of Mementos. The prisoners were saying the most dangerous criminal was being kept inside...”

Okumura blinked, his eyes widening. “Wait. Doesn’t that mean we’re the criminals?!”

Skull shook his head and pointed at Joker. “No, I think it’s Joker! He was kept in here!”

Eyes flew to Joker again, who just smirked. “That’s the greatest compliment ever.”

Genkei shrugged. “I don’t really get this ‘Trickster’ business, but that makes sense, given that’s you.”

Joker snickered. “I want a trophy for being the most dangerous criminal.”

“Be serious about this.” Mona scolded. Joker turned to him, but stopped short, as did all the others, when they laid eyes on him. Mona was glowing, literally. Bubbles of light surrounded his body, which he seemed oblivious to as he spoke. “You were under the guidance of a malicious god for quite some time.”

“Mona...” Noir gasped. “You’re glowing!”

Mona finally looked down at himself. He didn’t seem surprised; he barely reacted as he looked back up with a look in his eyes Joker didn’t understand. “It’s just because I understand my true purpose now.”

“Hey, do you see something shining...?”

Eyes went up to see a few people out of the crowd were gawking at them, and in particular, Mona. 

“I see it,” a woman agreed, “what is that?”

“Who are those people in weird costumes?” a man wondered. “I kinda feel like I’ve seen them before...”

“I remember now!” another passerby remarked. “That calling card— I recognize the mask on the frizzy haired one.”

“Oh, man, the Phantom Thieves! I totally forgot about those guys! No idea why.”

“They see us!” Panther gasped. Crow nodded.

“Only a few do out of the crowd, but it appears that way.”

“They remember the Phantom Thieves!” Noir said cheerfully. Hope returned to her eyes as she turned to the team. “We can’t let them down!” 

Nods came in return. Joker was about to address the team when he heard two familiar voices from behind.

“Wakaba! Ren! Futaba!”

“Dad! Makoto!”

Everyone turned to see Sojiro and Sae racing to the group with wide eyes and red faces that still bore the signs of tears. 

Sojiro moved to Wakaba and let out a breath of relief as he clutched his chest. “Thank God you’re okay! That was the scariest hour of my life!”

“Sorry.” Wakaba apologized with a shrug. She smiled. “I’m glad to see you again and talk to you in the... well, not the flesh. Whatever ghosts are made out of. I’d hug you if I was solid.”

Sojiro let out a broken laugh and a sob and wiped his eyes. “I don’t... I can’t... oh my God...” He turned next to his kids and hugged Oracle, who beamed and reached her arms up to hug back. “Thank God you’re okay.” He turned to Joker and embraced him, too. “And you, too.”

Joker stiffened for a moment before returning the hug. As they pulled apart, Sojiro let out an exhausted breath. He finally stopped to take a good look at his kids as his eyes widened.

“Uh... why are you two... wearing that?”

“It’s our thief clothes.” Joker replied plainly. “It appears by itself when we enter the Metaverse.”

“The Meta...” Sojiro looked up and around, at the state of the world. He exhaled sharply. “Right. That’s what you told me, Wakaba.” He gave his kids an incredulous look. “What in the hell happened?”

“I’ll explain while they get to work.” Wakaba interjected. “I can’t venture far from here, and the Thieves need to do their job.”

“Then I’ll stay here with you.” Sojiro said firmly. He turned to his kids and gave them both a serious look. “Don’t—“ He closed his eyes and gave a sigh. “Don’t... do anything reckless, okay? Please come back safe.”

“We will.” Joker promised. Oracle cocked her head at him.

“By the way, how did you know to come here?”

“Oh.” Sojiro scratched the back of his head. “It was the weirdest thing. I was freaking out when this... butterfly flew in out of nowhere and disappeared. Then... I don’t know how, but I knew where I had to be.”

Joker internally thanked Lavenza. Over with the Niijimas, Sae and Queen pulled apart from a relieved hug. Sae turned to her father and shook her head. “I’m so glad to see you’re okay. I was so worried...”

“I’m sorry, Sae.” Genkei apologized with a wince. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” He turned to Queen. “Your poor sis also disappeared from reality. All of us had a terrifying time.”

Sae gasped sharply and turned to Queen. “You _what?!_ You did, too—”

“It’s okay! I lived!” Queen reassured, holding her hands up. “We’ll explain everything later, but the Metaverse fused with reality and—”

“I’ll explain to her while you go do your thing.” He turned to his eldest. “We can only stay in this small zone outside this door. We can’t venture too far out into the city or we’ll disappear again, but the kids can go safely.”

“You’re sure?” Sae asked anxiously. As he nodded, she gave an anxious huff. “Then I’ll stay here with you. We need to talk and wait for the Thieves to do their jobs. But Makoto...” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she put a hand to her cheek in thought. Her eyes were stressed as they opened. “Please... come back safe.”

“I will.” Queen promised firmly with a nod of the head.

“Good.”

There was a pause. Sae cocked her head to the side and fixed her sister with a look that took her a moment to internally translate. That was when Queen realized she was inspecting her thieving suit and her mask. The girl went beet red and covered her face with her hands as she turned away from her sister. “Eek! Don’t look at me!”

She went even redder as she heard both her father and sister start laughing. Queen moaned into her hands and cringed.

“Listen, I didn’t pick the outfit, don’t look at me—”

Sae patted her back, still chuckling. “Makoto, it’s okay. Ren explained back in the interrogation room. I’m glad I finally got a chance to see for myself.”

“It’s embarrassing...” Queen whined. Sae ruffled her hair.

“You look fine, Makoto. I like the spiked shoulders.”

“Ughhh...” Makoto pulled her hands away and peered up at her with a curious look, though her face was still red. “By the way... how did you know to come here?”

Sae shrugged and crossed her arms. “It was the strangest thing. I saw this butterfly flap on by while I was trying to call you. Then... I don’t know how, but all of a sudden, I knew where I had to be.”

“Hey.” Mona’s voice came, making everyone snap to attention to look at him. The light had faded. “We don’t have a lot of time to dawdle. I know you’re happy to see them, but we need to get moving!”

Everyone nodded, save Sae and Sojiro, who recoiled from him.

“The hell is that?!” Sojiro gasped sharply. 

“Is that the magic cat?!” Sae questioned, wide eyed. Mona nodded.

“Yes, Niijima-san.” He looked up at Sojiro with withering eyes. “Boss, it’s me! Morgana! The, uh...” He cleared his throat and looked away. “... cat... that can talk. And was in Ren’s bag. That one.”

Sojiro gaped at him speechlessly while Oracle giggled and hoisted him up, ignoring his protests. “Isn’t he cute?!”

“Put me down!” Mona protested. “We have a mission!”

“Put him down.” Sojiro ordered weakly. He ran a hand over his eyes. “Jesus Christ, this day better just be a fever dream, because nothing feels real.”

“It’s not.” Wakaba deadpanned. Sojiro groaned.

“God damn it.”

She giggled and patted his arm as she looked at her daughter. “You should go. Just... be careful. All of you. I love you.”

“Are you all done?” Crow demanded impatiently. His mother gave him an exasperated look, to which he scoffed. “It’s the apocalypse, we don’t have much time to waste!”

“Then go. All of you.” Kunikazu urged proudly as he looked at his daughter. “... Go kick its ass.” 

Joker walked forward, toward the bone bridge leading up into the temple in the sky they had been kicked out of earlier. His team followed and stood at attention as he gave them his signature Joker smirk.

“It’s showtime!”


	49. Yaldabaoth

They made it three-quarters of the way up the bridge, past numerous powerful Shadows and past three Shadow angels that put up a tough fight when they heard screams down below. 

The Thieves walked to the edge of the bone bridge and looked down to see the people of Tokyo finally panicking and shrieking in dismay at the ruined world.

“About time they finally noticed!” Skull grouched. “How long have we been at this?”

“They only now realize their lives are at stake.” Fox snarled in disgust. 

“Think of it, though,” Joker remarked, peering down at the crowd, “this proves that it is not the people’s wishes to die like that monster says. As soon as they begin to snap out of it, they panic like the ghosts did.”

“Agreed.” Mona mused seriously. “Look at them. While I don’t doubt they wished to be ruled over and gave birth to a Treasure, that Treasure grew so powerful it was able to hypnotize those it belonged to. It’s not unlike how other Treasures warped their owners.”

“Yeah, but this Treasure has a will of its own.” Panther grumbled as she hugged herself. “That makes it a lot stronger.”

Crow crossed his arms. “We should keep moving. If we’re going to save these people, we need to hurry.”

Nods came, and Joker continued to lead the way. 

* * *

“So you’re telling me that... both Ren and Futaba disappeared like you did?” 

“Yes. They lived in the end, but they must have been terrified.”

Wakaba’s remark did little to remedy the fact all color had drained from Sojiro’s face at finding out what had happened to his kids. Sae shuddered and shared a look with him before looking at Wakaba with crossed arms.

“Is this going to have any... repercussions or effects on them? Do you really just... go through that sort of thing without some sort of consequence?”

“They seemed okay...” Kunikazu muttered. Wakaba sighed and shrugged.

“I really can’t tell you for sure. They were solid and able to touch each other, still breathing, still alive. That’s what’s important.”

Sae looked as though she wanted to say something, but elected for the moment to look off to the side.

Sojiro grumbled, already distracted as he looked at his phone. “God... I wish his parents wouldn’t keep asking for updates when I have none. They’re having a conniption as it is; I can only imagine their reaction if they heard what happened to their son.”

“I doubt they’d understand what even happened.” Ayumu snarked. Sojiro shrugged and put his phone in his pocket.

“That’s a good point, but still...”

“By the way,” Sae started, befuddled, “where are they?”

Sojiro shrugged. “They’re in their hotel room. They called me after Ren didn’t pick up his phone; I managed to talk them down and convince them to stay where they are. They don’t know the fine details, but they’re aware that their son and his friends are working on the situation.”

“I’m just glad they’re not here.” Wakaba grumbled.

“Pain in the asses. But they have a good reason to be worried...” Sojiro grumbled. He stared up at the temple with crossed arms. “Anyways, how long has it—”

Around them, they could hear screams begin to rise in volume and frequency. Sojiro and Sae gave the crowds nearby alarmed looks and backed up by the door. The ghosts were unfettered; Kunikazu scoffed.

“About time they realize the danger they’re in. Astounding.”

Genkei grinned. “That means there’s hope for us. People are beginning to reject what that would-be god wants to force on the world. They’re late, but they got to that realization all the same.”

* * *

The last angel they had to face was a nightmare. All felt exhausted, but a quick coffee and curry break brought them back enough to continue onward to the temple. They could hear the low rumbling and murmuring of the prisoners and the howling wind around them as they jumped down like they had in Mementos. From the center, they could see the false Igor floating in the center, shrouded by dark red energy as they approached, weapons in hand.

“Rebels who choose to deny the Prison of Regression...” it snarled. “Why do you mere humans still dare oppose me?!”

“Shut up!” Panther cried, glaring at it with the rest of the team. “Stop acting like you’re some kinda god! You’re just a Treasure! Shut up and let us destroy you!”

“Fools...” it sneered, “do you still not understand? Your actions will not save a single soul.”

“That might be their goal, but I’m not here to save souls. I don’t give a fuck about these prisoners supporting you.” Crow said, icily calm as he stepped up to Ren’s side. “You. You ruined my life... all for the sake of a FUCKING GAME!” The calm vanished as his voice raised with rage. He grasped his pistol and snarled. “We’re going to destroy you, no matter the cost!”

“Goro Akechi.” The being addressed coldly. “You ruined yourself; I merely gave you the tools. You disappoint me—you were meant to be my champion. My champion for a destroyed and remade world... yet you threw your lot in with these thieves.”

“I am not your champion, and never have been!”

“Hmm.” The false Igor’s smile grew wider. “Foolish, but perhaps you might listen to reason, unlike your rival. You may be just as interesting to watch as he. Turn on these Thieves. Destroy them. If you do, I will restore the world. You will take their place as a renown detective and hero, and—”

The figure disappeared as Crow shot at him repeatedly with no hesitation. “Shut up and die!”

“Fool.” its voice echoed through the temple, and before them, the golden Holy Grail materialized again. Crow scoffed. 

“You’re the bigger fool if you think I’ll be tempted by the likes of you.” His eyes shone with hatred. “I’m done being a puppet. I am my own man, beholden to no gods, and no masters... just as they are.”

“... Then die for your blasphemy.” 

From the top of the chalice, the veins pulsed and glowed, healing itself prematurely, mocking them. A reminder of their helplessness.

“Those veins have to go if we want to kill it,” Oracle whispered, “someone needs to get up there and sever them.”

“I’ll do it.” Crow volunteered. He turned to Joker with a determined look in his eyes. “Please. Let me do it.”

Joker nodded. “Go. We’ll distract it in the meanwhile.”

Crow nodded and took off for one of the hands while the others jumped into the fray. He jumped up to grasp onto the thumb and hoisted himself up before crawling onto the fingertips. The boy winced as his left shoulder cramped up, but he bit his lip and kept moving.

He heard a shout, and turned to see the team being knocked back by blast of light from the chalice. They grimaced and groaned but picked themselves up. The glow of a healing spell washed over them as Mona summoned his Persona—Crow wondered when it had changed form to a strange man with feathered feet Mona called Mercurius—and back to fighting they got.

Crow sucked in a breath and turned to focus on the pulsing red veins. He readied his glowing red sword in his right hand; he could hear the shouts of the inmates intensifying as they realized what he was about to do. 

With a wicked grin, he leaped forward and slashed through the veins. They severed remarkably easy, far easier and cleaner than Crow imagined. He swung through the other side, destroying them as he moved. 

“No,” he heard the grail rumble, “what have you done?!”

Crow laughed and jumped off the edge of the grail. Around them, the sounds of the Shadow prisoners crying out began to die off into confusion, as if they could not remember how they got there.

The Thieves grinned wickedly with Crow as he rejoined them in combat.

* * *

“It’s been awhile. Please be okay...”

“It’s alright, Sojiro.” Wakaba reassured, patting his arm. He shivered but offered her a weak smile as she smiled weakly as well. “They’re strong. We need to have faith in them.”

Sojiro sighed and shook his head. “It’s not that I don’t have faith in them, I just...” 

“The waiting is horrible.” Sae agreed. She glanced over the still shouting and screaming crowd around them. “Their screaming is grating, though they have every reason to scream.”

“And why’s that?” Genkei scoffed. “You scream when your life is in danger and you’re trying to get someone’s attention to help you. Everyone sees what’s happening. Everyone is in danger. What good does screaming do now?”

“Maybe it’s cathartic.” Ayumu muttered. She looked as though she was going to say something more, when all of them jumped when they heard a great, resounding metal screeching echo over the city, like that of metal scraping against metal. Eyes flew up to see a massive silver platform rising from where the temple had been at the end of the bone bridge. The temple around it crumbled as they saw brief plumes of smoke escape out of the sides as it stretched. 

They watched with soft, horrified gasps as they saw something they had never seen the likes of rise from the center of the platform the kids were no doubt on. None of them had words as they saw the gargantuan strange, shining silver figure with golden metal hands and a golden halo of wings circling over its head, which was small compared to its body. Wings made of metal stretched from its back. 

The screeching noise continued as it rose up until it finally stopped. All were left to stare in stunned silence at its looming figure. Its imposing form broke through the clouds and stood tall as a mountain over the city.

Wakaba was the first to break the silence.

“The Holy Grail in its entirety... this would be fascinating if that thing didn’t want to destroy our world.” She grimaced. “The kids... Futaba... Ren...”

“Makoto.” Sae whispered with white-faced dread. Kunikazu was shaking, his fists clenched.

“No. Not my Haru—!”

“Goro...” Ayumu whispered. She sucked in a breath and nodded. “They’re still alive. Let us keep our faith. Our hope.”

Sojiro shook and breathed out sharply. Tears clung in his eyes. “That’s all we have left after everything...”

* * *

They had been fighting, tossing spells and swiping with their weapons, at the Holy Grail. They scratched and scorched the surface, but it shot back sharp, white light for awhile until going silent.

The team stared up at it warily, panting quietly. 

“Oracle?” Queen questioned anxiously. The girl flinched and looked up at the grail, a hand on her chin.

“I’m... not detecting anything from it. But I don’t think that it’s...”

A great screeching noise filled the air. The ground began to shake as the walls around them crumbled. The sky above opened as the rumbling continued. 

“What the hell?! This looks bad, you guys!” Skull cried out. He was almost muted over the sound of falling, crumbling walls. The dais split open, and stretched as the hands began to rise up. From the center, a growing figure arose.

They stared up in horror as they rose into the sky on a great platform while the Holy Grail’s true form began to loom over them, casting a shadow over all of them. The world darkened as it stretched up to peer down at what it considered pests. 

“The true form of the Holy Grail...” Noir gasped as she stared up at the god before them, made of shining metal by appearance, with metal wings. Its body was highly angular and intimidating as it shone in the setting sunlight. 

When it stopped, for a moment, there was silence, aside from the blowing of the windfrom the high point they stood at, beyond the tallest skyscrapers of Tokyo. Perhaps even higher than the Skytree.

When it spoke, voice distorted and angry, everyone listened.

“I am the administrator born of the human unconscious.” it spoke firmly. “Yaldabaoth, the God of Control.”

The team shuddered as they took in what they were to face.

“This is crazy! It’s like a building!” Oracle gasped.

“It was already huge when it was the Holy Grail!” Panther whined.

“Yaldabaoth is a figure from Gnosticism,” Crow said simply, “the Demiurge. The false god who ignorantly declares himself the creator of humanity, who seeks to limit human knowledge out of envy.”

“I am the true God. The one who must guide humanity to its proper development.”

“You call destroying the world development?!” Joker decried.

“They have proven their foolishness. They must be destroyed to create something better.”

“Are you serious?!” Skull cried out angrily. “This is just a rigged game you started!”

“You are manipulating the people to make their world view match what you want so you can justify your evil.” Fox snapped. “You despise the dead because they, unassailable, prove that.”

“SILENCE!”

“Oh, did he hit a sore spot?” Skull sneered. “It’s true, ain’t it? And you damn well know it!”

“You dare blasphemy so severely?! You belong in the deepest pit of Hell!” 

“Then we’ll see you there with us.” Crow snapped. He turned to the team. “We have wasted enough time conversing with this abomination.” 

Fox laughed excitedly. “Our crowning glory will be slaying a god... true art!”

“It’s still way bigger than I’d like.” Queen remarked with a wince.

“What greater treasure could there be than this?” Mona said smugly. He turned to the team and beamed. “You guys are the best, stupidest team I could hope for!”

Joker stepped forward, raising his dagger. “We’re saving this world. Let’s do this, everyone!”

A chorus of cheers rose from the team. 

“Fools.” the Grail sneered. Crow laughed maniacally.

“COME AT US, YOU BIG TIN FUCKWAD!”

* * *

The fight dragged on for what felt like a long yet also short time. Constant healing was necessary as the colossal being struck them with harsh magic, swung an oversized sword at them, and even shot at them. 

The unique status ailments were the worst. Joker had been paralyzed by lust for a good few minutes and almost got killed by a strike from a magically-enraged Queen. Both came out of it very flustered, the former red and the latter apologizing repeatedly. Fox had been crippled for several moments after taking a spell that doubled the energy cost of any of his moves. Noir almost succumbed to intense despair from another spell.

By a certain point, it felt like they were fighting an endless battle where neither would gain the upper hand. The healers were exhausted and everyone was injured while Yaldabaoth, who had markedly slowed down, owing to damage he took, still managed to ready a powerful-looking, red ball of magic forming at its chest. Four spindly limbs flanked the corners, building up its strength.

“The arms aren’t going down!” Panther gasped out as Hecate faded after striking the four limbs with fire.

“That thing could kill us if we don’t stop it!” Oracle warned, panicked, from inside her Persona.

Joker grit his teeth. He knew his next move would drain the very last of his SP, but he stood up straight before the ball of magic that threatened to destroy them. His mask disappeared from his face.

“LUCIFER! MORNING STAR!”

He almost collapsed as he felt the energy drain away from him, but bright, white stars of almighty power descended on the god. With the sound of crashing and an angry cry from the god, the magic vanished instantly as its arms were decimated and fell from it.

Joker felt a small amount of energy return to him from Oracle. He looked back to give her a brief, appreciative nod when he heard the sound of whirring. He turned back around just in time to see the magic, albeit weaker, return and flood over the team, shrouding them in a howling storm of darkness as they all screamed.

They clung to the ground by their hands and dug their knees in as it burned and threatened to send them flying to the ground far, far below. 

They could hear the dismissive comments of the public. _What a shame,_ they said. _Guess it’s hopeless._

_Give up_ , they said.

“Don’t listen to this!” Crow screamed over the howling wind. “It’s... trying to mess with your mind! There’s no way we could hear anyone from here!” He glared at Joker. “This—isn’t checkmate!”

They gasped and groaned as the blast came to a stop. All of them began to pick themselves up, gasping and groaning and clutching their sides as they fought to regain the breath knocked out of them.

“This is the world of cognition,” the grail reminded them, “I am doing nothing. You are hearing the truth. The public has forsaken you.” A glowing red ball of magic began to form again. “They’re telling you what you already know—you are not wanted nor needed any longer.”

Another, even more powerful blast came as they all screamed.

* * *

Seeing the fight from the ground level was less dramatic, but everyone alike watched in shock (and for Ren’s confidants, in terror for the Thieves) as the fight went on. They couldn’t see the participants beyond the great abomination in the sky, but they saw the flares of magic and could hear the thing mocking the kids. Its voice echoed throughout Tokyo. 

Sojiro’s fists were clenched tightly the entire time, while Sae’s grip on her sleeves almost made them tear. 

A great blast of white hot magic, like stars descending from the heavens, came down just as the beast was readying a powerful attack—something red and ominous-looking.

For a moment, it stopped, stunned. Breaths were held without realizing it.

And then it reacted, throwing what magic it had back at the Thieves. They all watched in horror as a huge blast of dark red magic slammed the battleground.

It stopped as Wakaba screamed helplessly. Genkei grit his teeth. “Hey, they’re not dead yet. It’s still talking to them, and we haven’t seen their ghosts.”

“Jesus.” Sojiro whispered, stunned. “That would have killed anyone else. What sort of power do those kids have in them?”

“What we saw would have killed a normal person ten times over.” Sae pointed out. “They’re not normal kids. None of them are.”

“That means this isn’t over.” Kunikazu snapped. “My Haru won’t succumb to that... thing!”

Another, stronger blast came, and they began to scream again for their kids.

* * *

After the last blast, all of the kids were on the floor, almost unable to move as they groaned and tried to push themselves up.

“Give up,” Yaldabaoth snapped, “your ‘rebellion’ is for naught.”

“Kiss my ass.” Crow gasped as he got up, hunched over and stumbling but up all the same, with the others shakily following suit.

“If you’re really a god, you should be guiding people to your ideals.” Mona snapped. “You’re destroying them because you can’t do that, can you? So that you can flaunt your existence. That’s why you were observing us. You had to because the ‘masses’ and our leader’s power scared you. And the ghosts? They scared you most of all!”

“That sounds about right.” Fox gasped as he stood. 

Skull grunted from where he hunched over. “I don’t know how long you’ve lived, but you’re the perfect example of a pain-in-the-ass old man!”

“You find people like that everywhere.” Panther scoffed tiredly.

“There’s a term for that: narcissism.” Joker added, slowly standing up straight. 

“What drivel...” it scoffed. 

“I’m not hearing a good rebuttal.” Queen pointed out dryly. 

A weaker blast came from the god. This time, it didn’t hurt, but it was blinding.

“What is this?!” Panther cried in dismay. 

“Damn it, I can’t see anything!” came Skull’s voice.

“Do you want to erase us from the world this much?” Noir groaned, wincing.

“Don’t give in!” Crow cried from somewhere in the darkness. “This thing’s getting weaker if its move is to just plunge us into darkness!”

“G-Guys!” Mona cried out fearfully.

“Since you’ve been forsaken by the world, there is nowhere you can belong.”

The darkness faded just in time for bolts of lightning to strike the team, knocking them back down yet again.

“We... can’t lose like this...!” Skull gasped out. 

Joker scowled up at the being as he struggled to push himself back up. “We’re not done... because not everyone has forsaken us.”

“You refer to your human allies?” The god scoffed. “There are a handful of them out of billions of sheep. They will be removed just as you will.”

“And there it is again!” Mona snapped as he jumped up. “Again with removing people who don’t agree with you! You want to eliminate them just like you did with the ghosts!”

Yaldabaoth peered down at the small Persona user with disdain.

“The attendant made from the dredges of human hope?” it sneered. “It is impossible for a petty existence like yours to overrule my precedent.”

“We yield to no one.” Mona snapped proudly. “Not the Phantom Thieves, not our allies, not the ghosts who want to find their way to freedom! Even if one of us remains, we’ll get back up, and if you kill us, that will never stop our spirits! And we’ll definitely... definitely... take the world!”

* * *

_ “... Take the world!” _

The voice cut through the panic and the screams. The cries died down slowly as everyone looked up to see a staticky insignia of the Phantom Thieves flickered on the screens on the skyscrapers around them. 

For a moment, there was profound silence save for the low murmur of the stunned public and the drops of rain falling from the sky. Slowly, they began to remember the Phantom Thieves.

_ They haven’t given up. The Phantom Thieves haven’t given up. _

The silence was broken by the cry of a teenage boy pumping his fist skyward.

“Take it down, Phantom Thieves!”

Mishima jumped up as he cried out the encouragement. His fist remained aloft as he realized belatedly that everyone around him was staring at him with wide eyes. He lowered his fist and looked around himself. 

He was certain that a year ago, he would have cowered in this position, but fire in his heart spurred him on.

“Come on, why do you think they’ve been risking their lives all this time?! Damn it, you guys, snap out of it!” He gave a frustrated cry. “When will you stop running from the truth?!”

Mishima panted and hung his head. He felt almost like weeping until he heard the crowd around him begin to rouse.

_ The Phantom Thieves...! Yes, the Phantom Thieves! _

_ I can’t believe we forgot about them! _

_ They’re our only hope! _

Mishima looked up and nodded, holding his hands out.

“Phantom Thieves! Can you hear us?!”

* * *

The cheer for the Phantom Thieves began to spread across the city, perhaps the world. The quiet corner that the ghosts and adults waited in was no exception.

“That’s it!” Wakaba gasped in relieved glee. “The cognition of the public—they can empower the Phantom Thieves!”

“So we just have to cheer them on...?! I can do that!” Kunikazu cupped his hands around his mouth. “Get up! All of you, get up! You can win this!”

“You didn’t die then; don’t die now!” Ayumu agreed.

“Goddamn right!” Genkei cheered, pumping a fist in the air. “GET BACK UP! You can’t lose! You WON’T lose! Niijimas never quit!”

“I will believe in all of you until the very end.” Sae promised, looking up proudly. “You can win this!”

“Its your guys’ fault I don’t know when to quit, either.” Sojiro remarked as he raised a fist. “Get back up! Don’t lose to that thing!”

* * *

From their hotel room where they stared out the window, holding each other in their arms, the Amamiyas’ faces were tearstained. They crouched on the ground to get the best view they could of the battlefield in the sky above, where they knew their son was. From where they sat, they could hear the news on the TV, and heard the desperate cries for salvation of the people on the ground.

“We’re so sorry for everything we did.” his father whispered. “You’re right not to forgive us, but we will support you no matter what. Please... get back up.”

“Keep fighting,” his mother agreed, “and win. We were fools... and have no words for how proud we are of you. Fight and win so you can go home—home to Leblanc, where you belong!”

* * *

Joker could feel the power of the masses and the voices of all those he held dear whisper in his ears. All who knew him chanted at him to rise, to fight, to win to save their souls. He could even hear the combined cheers and pleas from the ghosts in the Velvet Room crying out, praising his name.

They believed in him. All of them believed in him, the condemned criminal who had been banished and shunned. The attic trash, the freak, the juvenile delinquent rebel.

He could feel power, raw power, pulsing in his soul. His heart beat with courage as be stood tall. Behind him, his friends were gaining strength, too, and stood, clutching their sides but smiling.

Joker’s mask disappeared, and behind him, Arsene materialized. He grasped some of the spectral chains floating around the Persona and threw them down, breaking his inner self free. Arsene roared, his head facing the sky, and disappeared in a brief plume of blue fire. Joker’s mask did not reappear as the Thieves looked up in stunned, confused silence as the chains exploded and dissipated into glittering pinpricks of golden light that floated down around them like fireflies. 

“Hmph. So you have failed to grasp the power.” Yaldabaoth mocked. “No matter how the masses comes togeth...”

It looked up to see a demon lord float down from the sky, holding his arms out. Golden horns pointed forward from its head, and six massive black wings stretched out from its back. Its eyes were cool and focused on the grail.

Yaldabaoth gasped as it came down and faced him. The other Thieves stared up, gaping at the massive Persona.

“W—What the...?” Panther let the question hang in the air as her wide blue eyes stared at it, stunned, from behind her mask.

“That’s...” Fox was speechless as he gasped at it.

“What the _fuck.”_ Crow said out loud as he stared up at it enviously. 

“Man, it’s huge!” Skull remarked bluntly. 

“No way... could that be a Persona?”

Joker nodded quietly; his mask was still gone as his entire team turned their gapes at him. They could hear the cheers of the crowd grow even louder at the sight of it. Morgana chuckled.

“I see... if a god plays naughty, then it’s a demon lord’s duty to punish him. What better finale could there be for a Trickster?” He nodded at Joker. “We’re entrusting the people’s hopes and wishes to you. Put an end to this!”

Joker nodded, once, and held his hand out. The lights flowed to his open palm into a compact ball of light that he grasped tightly as he closed his eyes.

He could feel an even stronger rush of power bolden his heart.

His eyes opened; they shone with purpose as he turned around, his coattails waving in the wind. “Pillage him, Satanael!”

“Oh my God,” Oracle whispered gleefully, “I can’t believe his Persona evolved into a Legendary! This is awesome...!”

“Kill it! Kill it now!” Crow demanded impatiently. 

The god threw another ball of dark magic at them, only to be completely blocked by Satanael as the crowd’s cheers grew even louder. 

Joker extended his arm, his gun in hand. Satanael followed suit, extending a gun pointing directly at Yaldabaoth’s head. Joker narrowed his eyes.

“Begone.” 

“Preposterous! You dare rob the people’s wishes?!”

He pulled the trigger, and so did his Persona. A massive bullet blew a hole clean through the god’s head; it almost seemed like it moved in slow-motion. The entire team stared, bewildered, except for Crow, who just grinned wickedly.

For a moment, Yaldabaoth floated there in stunned silence before speaking for the last time.

“It seems... Igor wasn’t spouting nonsense after all...”

Satanael faded away, back into a mask on Joker’s face. Yaldabaoth vanished, and in its place came a large golden grail that floated down and landed on the opposite end of the platform. 

“That’s it,” Noir gasped, “the Holy Grail...”

They slowly walked up to it. Mona approached it first and pressed a paw to its surface with a satisfied smile before turning to the team.

“Thanks for everything, guys.”

“Hey...” Fox started anxiously.

“What’s with that tone?” Skull questioned bluntly. Mona ignored him and turned his head to the grail.

“... We did it. The world is saved. With this, the public will regain their senses... and the Metaverse will be erased.” He smiled. “... Good job, team. Couldn’t be prouder.”

“Mona-chan...” Noir murmured. “Is something wrong...?”

The cat shook his head. “No... not at all.” He turned back to the grail. “Come on. Let’s finish this.”


	50. Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys please for the love of God I’m begging you to read the AN’s from now on. I am losing my goddamn mind.

As soon as the grail was in their possession, they were moved abruptly back to the ground level, to the train station they had left the others waiting at. They weren’t sure when it had happened, but they were all waist-high in the red water. Mona yelped and allowed Joker to hoist him onto his head.

All the parents immediately moved to embrace their children (in the ghosts’ case, best they could), with tears in their eyes. Sae joined in, all three Niijimas in relieved tears while Wakaba and Sojiro clung to Oracle and Joker, who hugged right back. 

When they pulled apart, Genkei was beaming.

“All of you—that was amazing.”

“Seriously.” Wakaba agreed. She cleared her throat and grabbed their attention. “There’s... something more pressing right now, though.”

She turned to the crowd. Their relief banked as they realized the world around them had frozen. Across the city, the sole exceptions were the highly confused confidants of Joker.

“The hell?” Sojiro sputtered.

“Looks like the rain stopped...” Queen remarked, holding a hand up. 

Sae looked around anxiously. The silence was disturbing to her. “Why is everyone frozen?” 

As soon as she spoke, the world began to glow with heavenly light. The traces of the Metaverse glowed and began to dissipate. All of them looked down to see the water had frozen around them before cracking, shattering loudly, and dissipating into the air. Everyone was left to gape as the world cleansed itself.

Joker noted Mona felt strangely light and warm on top of his head. All eyes flew up to the cat, who was shining as well with tears in his eyes.

“The world has been restored to how it should be.” he said calmly. “The Metaverse is gone. A new day is dawning for humanity.” 

He floated off of Joker’s head. The boy yelped and jumped up, trying in vain to reach him.

“Mona! What’s going on?!”

Mona sighed. “As a product of cognition myself, of human hope... if the Metaverse goes, I go, too.” 

“No!” Noir cried out as the whole team reached up for him. “Mona-chan!”

“... The world has hope, now, thanks to you. Thank you for everything...”

“MORGANA!” Wakaba cried out desperately. Screams and shouts rose as he disappeared, until a bright flash of light that blinded them. All of them were forced to shield their eyes, and when they reopened them, the world was back to normal. The sounds of the city bustling about and cars honking continued. The air was chilly, and people moved about their business obliviously. 

There were ghosts in the background, having returned to the world, who cheered and cried out in relief, but Ren’s focus was on the dazed cat on the ground in front of him.

“Oof... so this is what it’s like to be a ghost.” Morgana stood up and shook himself. “Doesn’t feel any different from being alive.”

Everyone stared at him as he experimentally shook himself out and patted his face with a paw. As it made contact with his face, he stopped short. “... Wait a minute.”

Sojiro approached the cat and hoisted him up, drawing a startled meow from the cat. “Don’t scare us like that, idiot.” he scolded, tears still wet on his face. “You aren’t dead at all.”

Morgana’s tail raised, and he hissed as he glared at Boss. “Don’t call me an idiot! I thought I was going to vanish!”

“Right. Sorry, just... relieved.” Sojiro shook his head as he turned to Ren and handed the cat off to him. “Hearing this cat talk is going to take some getting used to.”

“No kidding.” Sae agreed dryly. She let out a sigh of relief as she clutched the aide of her head. “At least this is all over. Everything is back to normal. The world is saved.” She looked to where her father had been and frowned. “But... I can’t see him anymore.”

“And I can’t see Wakaba, but we know they’re there.” Sojiro agreed with a reassuring smile that was nevertheless accompanied by disappointment in his eyes. Ryuji nodded and crossed a leg over the other.

“It’s alright. We have our ghost whisperer to help us.” He turned to Wakaba. “Ain’t that right, Isshiki-sa...” 

Wakaba’s eyes widened as she stared at him in silence. Everyone sans Sojiro and Sae stared at her. Ryuji froze for a second and gasped as he took a step back. “... Wait an effing second.”

“Sakamoto-kun...?” she questioned, stunned. “Do you still see and hear me?”

The boy just made a strange, startled noise. “Holy shit... I do! I can see you!” He shuddered and turned to the others. “How about all of you?”

Morgana’s eyes widened as he looked between the bewildered ghosts. “I... see them, too.”

Makoto gasped sharply. Her head turned toward her father. She took a step back, her eyes trained on her father, and covered her mouth with both hands as her father and sister gaped right back at her. 

“Dad...” she breathed. “Is... is this real?”

“I don’t see him, so yes. It’s real.” Sae said simply. She winced while Genkei remained taken aback. The elder sister made a strange, conflicted noise. “Oh my God. My own sister?”

Futaba burst into tears and reached out to her mother with both arms. “Mom...! I can see you!” she whispered as she beamed through the ecstatic tears. “I see you! Mom...!”

“Futaba...” Sojiro gasped softly, staring in abject shock as Wakaba, shaken, reached out to pat her daughter’s head.

“Oh, dear.” Wakaba uttered, dazed.

Haru cried and laughed as nodded at her father, who stared at her with a stunned, giddy look in his eyes. “Father!” she cried, reaching out for him. “I see you!”

“Haru...!” he gasped. “You’re... like Ren, now?”

“Yes! Yes, I am!” Haru beamed. “This is a dream come true!”

Yusuke had produced a sketchbook from somewhere as he began to draw the scene in front of him with an ecstatic look in his eyes. He laughed breathlessly. “Yes...” He let out a loud, wholehearted laugh that drew funny looks. “Yes! YES! This is what I’ve dreamed of all this time! This must be our reward for what we did!”

Ryuji looked between all of the ghosts with wide eyes, utterly bewildered. “Holy shit...” he whispered. “We’re... we’re like Ren...”

“Oh my God.” Ann agreed, stunned. Ryuji turned to her.

“You really seein’ what I’m seein’?” he questioned, sounding dazed. As she nodded, he let out a soft gasp. “For real...? Holy shit...”

Ann laughed nervously and played with a lock of hair. “I sure can...” She blinked. “Oh my God... this is real...”

“We’re all dead guy whisperers now?!” Ryuji sputtered in disbelief. “All of us?!” 

“Oh my God.” Ann repeated, stunned. She looked between all of the ghosts before a breathless, bemused chuckle escaped her. “... We’re like Ren now.” she whispered with a strange smile on her face. Ryuji just grinned and pulled a fist.

“Hell yeah!”

“Are you fucking serious?” Akechi griped from beside his tired-looking mother. 

Morgana nodded slowly. “... There’s no mistaking it. All of us have been affected... it was when we disappeared from reality.” he judged seriously. “We thought we were dying... we all saw ghosts succumbing to the same fate. That produced the cognitive change necessary to switch on the power to see the dead in all of us who couldn’t already.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me...” Sojiro griped. _“All_ of you?!”

“I knew it,” Sae whispered, “I knew something like this was going to happen because of that!”

“Sis...” Makoto stammered, her face going red. Sae sighed and pulled Makoto in for a brief hug.

“Don’t worry, I’m okay with it. That goes without saying; I’m just... worried, is all.”

Makoto smiled tiredly as they pulled away. “Thanks, but... if it means I can talk to our father one on one...” She turned to her father. “Then it’s worth it.”

Genkei let out a conflicted noise and shook his head. “While that’s... I mean, I’m thrilled to talk to you, too, but I worry about you coping with this once I’m gone.”

“I’ll be okay. I’ll learn to adjust, and we have our leader.”

Genkei laughed softly and nodded. “That you do.”

“You’ve been awfully quiet, Ren,” Wakaba pointed out, “how are you feeling about this?”

Eyes went to Ren. The boy was staring dazedly at the ground with a look that could be best described as exsanguinated in color. Futaba frowned and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “Ren...?”

Ren slowly shook his head and looked between his teammates. He grimaced.

“You see them.” he whispered. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful now for what I have, but...” He closed his eyes and exhaled sharply. “I didn’t want any of you to have to deal with the stress related to this. It’s not all sunshine and daisies, and...”

“I, for one, will take that stress happily,” Yusuke said firmly, “for this is a beautiful power I feel honored to now carry within me.”

“I agree!” Haru agreed vigorously, from where she stood with her smiling father. “I have no complaints!“

“Same.” Futaba said gleefully, still clinging to her mother’s side. Her mother had gotten over the shock and concern (at least for the moment) by that point to settle on a teary, sincere smile.

“This is a tool we’re all proud to have.” Morgana agreed eagerly from Ren’s shoulder. “Finally!”

“It means we can all face ghosts with you, now.” Ann agreed with a soft smile. Ryuji nodded along.

“Yeah, man. I said I’d be here every step of the way, and since one of our goals is helpin’ actual phantoms, we can sorta continue SOME what we were doin’!”

Ren sighed. “Are you sure you’re all okay with this?”

Ryuji grinned wickedly. “Hell yeah! We’re all... dead certain!”

The loud chorus of groans that resulted drew some confused looks from people around them.

“Oh, fuck this.” Akechi groaned. “I’m going home. We’ll talk about how we want to proceed from here tomorrow.” He stared at Ren. “You’re the leader. They’re your responsibility.”

“I...” Ren trailed off as Akechi walked off, his mother following after him. Ryuji’s eyes widened.

“ _Craaap_. There’s something I gotta go do.” He waved. “See you tomorrow, guys! We’ll be the best effin’ ghost seer club ever! Fuck the Whisperer’s Organization!”

With that, he hurried off. One by one, they bid their farewells and headed home, until it was just the Niijimas, Yusuke, and the Sakuras. Futaba grinned at a dazed-looking Sojiro. “Congrats! Both of your kids see dead people!”

“Yes, I know.” Sojiro scratched the back of his neck. “I don’t even know how to respond anymore. I’m tired.”

“Then let’s go grab some turkey and cake and chill out in Leblanc!”

Yusuke cleared his throat. “I hope I’m not imposing, but—”

“Yes, of course you can join us, but...” Sojiro shook his head. “I don’t have the cash for either of those.” He gave Sae, Makoto, and Yusuke an apologetic look. “Sorry. I could whip us up some curry, if the three of you would like to join us?”

Sae chuckled. “I can spare the money for a turkey, if we’re all dining together.”

“I can’t ask you to—”

“Don’t worry about it.” Sae turned to her sister. “I have doubts you’ll be able to find one, but do you two want to go see if you can find a cake?”

“We’ll do our best.” Ren said tiredly. 

“No promises, though.” Makoto added with a shrug. “It’s late, it’s snowing, and I would imagine most bakeries are sold out on Christmas Eve.”

“Go give it a shot anyways.” Genkei said wryly. He winked. “You never know.”

“I suppose that’s true. We’ll see.” Makoto turned to Ren. “Why don’t we get going? We shouldn’t make them wait too long for us.”

Ren nodded. Before either was aware of it, they were hand in hand as they walked off together.

Makoto noticed that Ren was awfully quiet most of the journey.

* * *

No one was expecting the couple to have anything when they returned to Leblanc. Futaba had retrieved the turkey, and Sojiro had been cutting the meat into slices when the two arrived. Futaba, Morgana, and Yusuke, from where they sat on the bar stools, immediately locked onto the cake box Ren was carrying. Their eyes widened.

“You managed to get a cake!” Yusuke gasped, standing up and beaming. Futaba laughed gleefully and nodded. 

“If we can all kill a god, they can get a cake! Ren’s the Trickster, after all! He changes fate!” She looked up at her mother who stood by her side. “Right, Mom?!”

Wakaba shook her head and sighed, but smiled all the same. “... Maybe so.” she said with a giggle. Morgana groaned.

“That’s not what it means to be a Trickster... not something as simple as cake!”

“I’m not objecting if that’s what it is.” Sojiro said dryly. He blinked and set down his knife as he fixed them with a baffled look. “Seriously, though, how did you manage that? We were honestly expecting you two to just wander or do couple stuff for awhile before coming back.”

“Please.” Genkei scoffed with a wry smile. “My daughter doesn’t give up that easy. Or do scandalous things in public like holding hands.”

Makoto went beet red while Ren and Futaba began to snicker. “DAD!”

“What did he say?” Sae questioned dryly from her seat at the back booth. Makoto shook her head.

“Nothing, he’s just teasing me.” She looked up at her father. “I know we’re all new to this, but... talking to you feels very natural.”

“Right? Seeing dead people is a lot less exciting than I imagined.” Futaba huffed. “Ren wasn’t exaggerating whenever he said it was just like talking to anyone else.”

“Told you.” he said dryly. She smiled.

“But it’s still awesome talking to my mom one-on-one.”

Yusuke was practically vibrating with excitement and a still-giddy smile. “It’s still sinking in for me. I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” Genkei deadpanned. He jerked a thumb in Yusuke’s direction. “He never stops asking questions.”

“Can you blame me, Niijima-san?!” he cried. Makoto shook her head and mouthed something at her father, who just rolled his eyes. Sojiro and Sae shared an uncertain look. 

“Hoo, boy,” Sojiro grumbled, “okay. Well, just... settle down for now and enjoy dinner. We can process all of this tomorrow.”

* * *

They all ate and enjoyed their dinner. Ren was quiet much of the time and chose to observe the new ghost whisperers.

Yusuke, true to Genkei’s word, was particularly verbose and chatted eagerly with the ghosts. Futaba practically clung to her mother’s side and talked almost the whole time with her. Wakaba more than once had to remind her to eat.

Makoto chatted calmly with her father while Sae looked conflicted. Ren could see concern written all over her face, even when she smiled. Sojiro, too, kept casting anxious looks at Futaba, but did a good job keeping calm.

Eventually, Ren and Makoto retreated upstairs with their cake, albeit not without the expense of being teased.

“Hey. You two.” Both teens turned to look at Genkei, whose arms were crossed. He feigned a stern look. “Keep it above the belt.”

This time, both went red instantly while Futaba laughed and Yusuke cocked his head to the side.

“DAD!” Makoto cried and moaned as she covered her face. Sojiro and Sae’s eyes widened as they mentally took a guess at what was said. Sae’s eyes narrowed and Sojiro covered his mouth to try to bite back his laughter.

“You two—behave.” Sae warned sternly.

“Oh my God! We’re not going to do anything!” Makoto griped.

Yusuke just blinked. “What does ‘above the belt’ mean?”

The couple decided to not respond and hurried upstairs.

* * *

The two ate their cake together in the quiet, chilly room. 

It was a particularly sweet and delicious cake. Ren felt like he should have happy—after all, the bad guy was dead, the mental shutdowns were over, Shido would be prosecuted, they were all alive... true, the MetaNav was gone, but in exchange for a free world.

Something else weighed on his mind—his friends. They were all like him, now. All of them—he thought back to how they had almost died, or thought they were about to. The screams of the team and the dead were sounds that wouldn’t leave his mind. More than that, he imagined his team living as he did—talking to the dead, unsure sometimes if the person they speak to is truly there. 

Being guided by a ghost to arrest. 

He jolted when he felt a finger swipe the tip of his nose. Ren looked over to see Makoto sticking her frosting-covered finger in her mouth with a smile.

“How did that even get there?” she questioned with a giggle. Ren reddened and rubbed the back of his neck in response.

“Beats me! I didn’t even notice.” 

Makoto laughed, then sighed, as she gave him a loving look.

“You seem distracted.” she pointed out. Ren flinched and scratched the back of his neck as he looked at her. His first instinct was to lie, but as he took in the look of concern on her face, he sighed softly and shrugged.

“Y—Yeah.” he admitted. “I guess I am.” 

Makoto sighed and frowned. “Is this about all of us being able to see ghosts now?”

Her boyfriend hesitated before he nodded back. “I’m just... worried.” he admitted. “I don’t want you to suffer like I did. I mean, it’s great and I accept what I have now, but I don’t want you to have any regrets—”

“I won’t.” She put a hand on his cheek and smiled reassuringly. “Ren, I’m happy. I’m happy that you won’t feel so alone anymore in this. I’m happy I can see my father for myself. I’m happy that we can all share such a wonderful thing.” She kissed his forehead. “We’ll all be okay, Ren. I’m sure there will be some hiccups along the way, but as long as you lead us, we’ll all be more than fine.”

Ren sighed and smiled tiredly. “... Alright. I’ll do my best.” He chuckled and shook his head. “If someone had told me a year ago that I would be leading a bunch of other ghost whisperers, I would have... vehemently denied it. This is quite the turn-around.”

Makoto giggled. She looked toward the window, and her brows lifted. “Look at the snow coming down.”

Ren followed her gaze. Snow was falling fairly heavily, but it was beautiful at the same time. The snowflakes almost seemed to sparkle and glow under the city lights. A soft gasp escaped Ren. “Oh...” He smiled wryly and turned to Makoto. “It’s snowing pretty hard.”

“The others have gone home at this point. It looks like we’re snowed in.” Makoto nudged him. “I’m okay with that. Let’s just go sit and enjoy the snowfall.”

Moments later, the two were nestled on the bed, Makoto in Ren’s arms as they laid back and watched the snow fall. They were warm with the heater going and watched in comfort at the beauty of nature coating the city in white.

“It’s beautiful.” Makoto whispered. Ren kissed her head.

“Yeah, and I’m enjoying it with someone even more beautiful.”

Makoto giggled and reddened as she shook her head. “That’s so corny! Where did you learn that line?!”

“You _liiike_ it.” he teased as he hugged her. Makoto sighed and shook her head.

“Maybe so. I thought I had better taste.”

“Ouch.” He put a hand on his chest in feigned indignity. “That’s cold, Makoto.”

Both giggled and rested against each other as they continued to watch the snow. Soon, both felt drowsy, and before they knew it, they were drifting off.

“Tonight is perfect.” Makoto whispered. Ren yawned and held her tighter.

_“Almost **too** perfect...”_ he thought to himself as they drifted off to sleep, lulled by the snowfall. 

* * *

Christmas morning, and everyone seemed bright in spirit, save for a strangely quiet Akechi. Everyone brought food for a potluck and chattered excitedly over their food and presents.

“I told my mom about my seein’ dead people last night,” Ryuji said cheerfully, “and she’s cool with it! She said she can’t wait to support us!”

“Shiho and I have a date planned for New Year’s to visit a shrine together.” Ann said just as gleefully. “We had a date last night! She popped by my place late and said she had something to tell me. We’re a couple now!”

“How marvelous,” Yusuke continued, “I spent much of the night chatting with a ghost I found. He seemed pleased to have the attention. It’s everything I hoped for!”

Everyone chattered about their Christmas morning news and miracles. Ren couldn’t help but smile at how happy all of them seemed to be—bright, lively, and full of hope. Even the ghosts seemed to be of good cheer.

“I was expecting to be pulled to the afterlife after all of that,” Wakaba confessed, “but I don’t feel any pressure to move! I guess I’ll stay here until then.”

Futaba cried with joy and shared the news; Sojiro beamed happily, though that was the first thing that gave Ren pause. 

He didn’t want her to go, of course, but he knew the fate of ghosts with resolved problems. He knew she had previously mentioned being tired of the real world. All of that seemed to be gone. 

Akechi cleared his throat, and all eyes went to him. He sat with his hands in his lap on one of the barstools and looked at Ren.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I have some news regarding Amamiya-kun’s criminal record. I couldn’t sleep last night, so I stayed up and managed to find the contact information of the woman Shido mentioned. She was beside herself with guilt and promised to rescind her testimony against him.”

“Which means that his record will be rescinded.” Sae said with a smile. The team burst into cheers while Ren sat in a booth beside Makoto, blinking dumbly. The prosecutor held her hands up. “It’ll take some time, but I think it will be done soon enough. Your life is yours again, Amamiya-kun. In addition, I’ve been swamped with testimonies from dozens of people who have had a change of heart—Shido’s conviction will come easily.”

Futaba beamed. “Aren’t you excited, Ren?! We’re all like you now, your criminal record is toast, Shido and his cronies are going to jail, and all the ghosts are gonna stay! It’s a real life happy ending!”

Ren sat there, blinking. “I...”

“I think he’s overwhelmed.” Genkei chuckled. “Look at his face! We broke him!”

Sojiro stepped forward and patted Ren’s shoulder. “Say something so we know you’re still with us, kid.”

Ren stammered for a moment before shaking his head. “I—I’m sorry, I’m just... at a loss.”

“I think we broke him.” Morgana laughed. Futaba giggled.

“Ren.exe has stopped responding!”

Ren shook his head and shuddered. He blinked a few times and looked over the room. Eyes were on him, cheerful and adoring. The room smelled exquisite with the odor of coffee and various foods the team had brought, and the world—not just the room—somehow seemed brighter, warmer, as if nothing bad had ever happened. All of the ghosts seemed as if they didn’t have a concern in the world—and oddly enough, Genkei and Kunikazu were standing next to each other... _getting along?_

He liked it, but at the same time, it felt wrong. It felt strangely hollow. When he mentioned the former, he just got a pat on the shoulder from Ryuji and a playful grin.

“Donchu worry about it! You’re just out of it after having so much horrible shit happen to you up to now. It’ll feel right once it sinks in.”

Was that really the case? Ren couldn’t deny that maybe he was thrown for a loop, having spent years in darkness before being abruptly thrust into the light. Still, the others were beginning to look genuinely concerned, so he forced a smile.

“I’m sure you’re right. Sorry.” 

“No need to apologize, Ren. We understand.” Haru approached and put a plate of some of the food from the charcuterie plate she had brought before him. “Please eat. You’ll feel better after you eat.”

Ren’s nose wrinkled as he looked down at the plate. “Er...”

“I know the cheese smells gross, but it tastes great, I promise.” Ryuji reassured.Ren was about to say something when Ayumu, the only one who had been absent, appeared out of nowhere to stand beside her son.

Ann almost screamed loud enough to pop an eardrum. Makoto shrieked and threw her arms around Ren in a vice grip. Futaba screamed and ducked under the table. Morgana yowled and launched himself over the counter to hide.

“OH, FUCK!” Ryuji yelped as he fell backwards, and Yusuke gasped and panted as he clutched his chest. Haru had flinched and was breathing quicker, but was still relatively calm. 

The momentary surprise in Ren and Akechi was quickly replaced by concern in Ren and hysterical laughter with Akechi. Sae’s nose wrinkled as she cuffed the back of Akechi’s head and made him stop laughing as he winced and clutched his head. She approached her sister while Sojiro hurried to coax Futaba out from under the table. Everyone was rapidly settling and taking soothing breaths. Makoto continued to shake and babble out apologies and pleas for her sister to save her while clinging hard enough to Ren to almost obstruct his breathing.

“Makoto,” Sae started gingerly, “it’s okay. You’re okay.”

“I know.” Makoto whispered shakily as she hung her head, still clinging to Ren. She sighed heavily, shamefully. “Sorry, Sis...”

“Don’t be sorry. I’m just worried about you; I know this isn’t an easy transition for you.” Sae smiled softly. “You’ll be okay, Makoto. Just remember to breathe.”

As Sojiro got Futaba out from under the table, the girl groaned and repositioned her glasses. “That was embarrassing. Sorry...” She groaned and lifted her glasses up to wipe at her eyes. “That’s the biggest downside to this...” 

“Mother.” Akechi addressed calmly. 

“Son.” Ayumu addressed back just as calmly. Ren noticed she, too, seemed nonplussed, not unlike her quiet son. She cleared her throat. “Apologies to everyone, but I’d like to speak to my son and Amamiya-kun in private for a few moments.”

Nods came, and everyone returned to their happy chatter. Akechi stood up and nodded toward the door while looking at Ren. Ren nodded back and smiled at Makoto; the two briefly squeezed each other before pulling apart, and out Ren went with Akechi.

The outside world seemed bright, too. Almost too bright. Akechi was silent as he led him to the laundromat, and when he was sure he was alone, he let out a huff.

“Thank God. I was getting nauseous from the atmosphere.” He leveled his gaze. “You notice it, too, don’t you?”

Ren huffed quietly. “So I’m not imagining it. Everything seems... too perfect. Too fast.”

“Exactly. My mother and I have noticed, too.” He crossed his arms and turned to her. “I had her scope out the city this morning. Are you ready to report?”

“Yes.” She crossed her arms. “Something is wrong. Something unnatural is happening. While I could occasionally find some unhappy people, the majority of society seems... happy. Too happy. Everyone walks about with too-wide smiles.”

“Maybe it’s the Christmas spirit?” Ren said dryly. At their unimpressed stares, he scratched the back of his neck. “Sorry. Okay, yeah, something is up. I don’t get it; the MetaNav is gone. I’ll see if I can consult Igor and Lavenza tomorrow; I need a day to rest after the events of yesterday.”

They heard a throat clear behind them. Both turned to see a short teenage girl, not much younger than Ren, step into the laundromat. She had bouncy red hair pulled back into a ponytail tied with a red ribbon and wide, reddish dark brown eyes. 

“I invited her.” Akechi said calmly. The girl nodded, though a worried look was on her face.

“Good morning, Senpai. Merry Christmas.”

Ren frowned. “Merry Christmas, but... have you...?”

She nodded grimly.

“... I think something is very wrong, Senpai. And I think I have a feeling about what it is...” 

Ren’s brows lifted. “You mean...?”

She nodded again.

“... The Phantom Thieves’ job isn’t over yet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s it for the non-Royal YST content! Thanks for reading; I am already working on the Royal content. If you want to know when that comes out, please subscribe to the collection here: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1902964
> 
> I am ALSO gonna eventually do a one-shot fic chapter after the Royal edition is done about the entire squad doing ghost stuff and adjusting to seeing ghosts hope you enjoy. As for the confidants chapter, as of my writing this note (9/27/2020) I have Kawakami and Iwai chapters in the works; of the two, Iwai’s is closer to completion.
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> EDIT:
> 
> Guys. Please stop asking me why I segued into Royal content. Please stop asking me why Royal content was not in this fic prior. I have explained several times in ANs.
> 
> I have addressed this MULTIPLE TIMES.


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